Abstract

Multinational companies (multinationals) are characterized by the fact that they have ­headquarters in one country and branches in others (e.g. SAP, the German-based company specializing in software manufacturing, has subsidiaries/offices in more than 130 countries). Some multinationals are such massive economic units that their assets exceed the GDP of entire countries (Collinson & Morgan 2009). Multinationals establish branches because it is economically advantageous to them: the given country may be an attractive market for the goods produced, or there is cheap labor in it, or both. Branches are typically set up and run by a small group of employees (e.g. several tens of people), called expatriates. They are sent from the company headquarters and their main task, at least at the beginning, is to transfer the know-how necessary for successful company operations. The recipients of this know-how are employees recruited from among the local inhabitants or people from nearby regions (e.g. several hundred or even thousand people).