Men and Women of the Global Corporation

Clifford L. StaplesHeather Jackson

Department of SociologyUniversity of North Dakota

From “globalization” to “Global Capitalism”

• Some refer to it as “globalization.”

• Others of us refer to it as “the spread of global capitalism,” and are associated with the “Global Capitalism School” (Marx, Gramsci, Sklair, Robinson, Harris, et al.)

Global Capitalism School Assumptions

• Classes, not nation-states, are fundamental social forces.

• Classes are relational, e.g. you can’t have lords without serfs or capitalists without workers.

• Dominant classes at any point in history survive by appropriating the societal surplus produced by subordinate classes.

Global Capitalism School Assumptions

• International trade has existed for centuries, but until recently most “circuits of production and accumulation” took place within the borders of nation-states.

• But as the current financial crisis illustrates clearly, we now exist in a world of transnational circuits of production and accumulation.

The Global Rich: Forbes Billionaires 2000-2008

Year

Number of

Billionaires

Aggregate Net Worth

Billions USD

Net Worth as % of GWP© % US % BRICⁿ

2000 322 1386.1 3.3%2001 538 1728.6 4.0% 50.0% 3.5%2002 472 1515.5 3.3% 48.1% 3.8%2003 396 1230.8 2.5% 48.9% 6.3%2004 587 1917.2 3.7% 47.2% 7.0%2005 691 2236.2 4.0% 49.1% 7.2%2006 793 2645.5 4.4% 46.8% 10.1%2007 946 3452.0 5.3% 43.9% 13.4%2008 1125 4381.0 6.4% 41.7% 17.9%

© Gross World Product, IMF, 2008 is projected

ⁿ Brazil, Russia, India, China

World Distribution of Wealth 2000 Bottom 9/10th

%Top 10% Top 5% Top 1%

World wealth shares (%)

14.8% 85.2% 70.7% 40.1%

Minimum wealth (US$)

$61,536.0 $150,182.0 $512,386.0

Davies, et. al. "The World Distribution of Household Wealth," UNU-Wider 2008

Research on the TCC

• There is a long and well-established tradition of research on national capitalist classes.

• My research since 2000 has focused on the possible emergence of a Transnational Capitalist Class.

• In contrast to a national class, a transnational class is multinational in membership and transnational in its economic and political interests.

Research on the TCC

• The purpose of this research is determine to what extent a TCC exists or is in the process of forming, to monitor its evolution, and to examine its consequences for nation-states and citizens.

TNCs and Their Directors

• The Forbes Global 2000 (2008):– employ 72 million people– own $119 trillion in assets– are worth $39 trillion in market cap– earn $30 trillion in revenues– earn $2.4 trillion in profits. – control about 40% of GWP

TNCs and Their Directors

• By any measure, the CEOs and directors of the world’s largest corporations are some of the world’s most powerful people and so are worth studying.

TNCs and Their Directors

• But because they also control “transnational circuits of production and accumulation” they are of particular interests to the “Global Capitalism School” because they form the core of any Transnational Capitalist Class.

Focus of Current Research

• Researchers have looked at two key indicators of increasing transnationality among the world’s largest corporations and directors:– Transnational director interlocks– Multinationality of corporate boards

Board Globalization

• In 1993 only 35% of the top 100 most transnational firms had and “foreigners” on their boards; by 2005 75% had at least one non-national on the board.

• Data for the Fortune Global 500 (2006) show an overall average of 50.4% with at least one “foreigner” on the board.

• “Board Globalization in the World’s Largest TNCs 1993–2005” Corporate Governance: An International Journal 2007, 237–247)

Board Globalization

No Yes TotalEurope 43 (24.4%) 133 (75.6%) 176

Americas 101 (52.1%) 93 (47.9%) 194

Australasia 101 (83.5%) 20 (16.5%) 121

Other 2 (28.6%) 5 (71.4%) 7

Total 247 (49.6%) 251 (50.4%) 498

Global Capital & Globalized Boards• Between 1993 and 2004 the number of cross-border M&As

increased dramatically.

• The evidence on the relationship between cross-border M&As and board globalization showed that:

– firms that were involved in a “mega-deal” worth $1 billion or more were considerably more likely to have a globalized board of directors than the firms that did no such deals

• “Cross-Border Acquisitions and Board Globalization in the World’s Largest TNCs” 1995–2005 The Sociological Quarterly 49 (2008) 31–51

Transnational Capital & Globalized Boards

Company has at least one non-national

Company did $1 Billion deal 1993-2004

No Yes Total

No 218 (59.7%) 147 (40.3%) 365

Yes 29 (21.8%) 104 (78.2%) 133

Total 247 (49.6%) 251 (50.4%) 498

Number of Countries Represented on Boards of Number of Countries Represented on Boards of Directors: Percentage Distribution by Region in 2006Directors: Percentage Distribution by Region in 2006

Number of countries represented on board

One Two Three Four+ Total

Europe (N = 176) 24% 20% 20% 34% 100%

North America (N = 190) 51% 29% 14% 6% 100%

Asia (N = 112) 86% 9% 1% 4% 100%

All regions (N = 498) 49% 22% 13% 16% 100%

Number of Firm-to-Firm Ties among Number of Firm-to-Firm Ties among FortuneFortune Global 500 Firms in 1998 and 2006 Global 500 Firms in 1998 and 2006

Number of ties

1998 2006

Total ties 1,097 1,068

Domestic ties 916 761

Domestic ties within Europe 257 320

Domestic ties within North America 600 404

Domestic ties within Asia 46 33

Transnational ties 181 307

Transnational ties within Europe 88 161

Transnational ties within North America 14 18

Transnational ties within Asia 0 0

Transnational ties: Europe North America 63 105

Transnational ties: Europe Asia 3 6

Transnational ties: North America Asia 3 6

Women in Global Corporate Elite

• Research on the TCC to this point has ignored the sex of corporate directors

• While studies of women on corporate boards exist, most are based on national or regional samples

Sex by Number of Boards

One Board Two+ boards

Total

Male 4,572 (88.7%)

582 (11.3%) 5,154

Female 503 (86.0%)

82 (14.0%) 585

Total 5,075 (88.4%)

664 (11.6%) 5,739

Sex by Foreign Board Service

No Yes Total

Male 4,568 (88.6%)

586 (11.4%) 5,154

Female 521 (86.0%)

64 (14.0%) 585

Total 5,089 (88.7%)

650 (11.3%) 5,739

Sex by Transnational Interlocks

No Yes Total

Male 431 (74.1%)

151 (25.9%) 582

Female 62 (75.6%)

20 (24.4%) 82

Total 493 (74.2%)

171 (25.8%) 5,739

Sex by U.S./Non-U.S. Citizenship

Not U.S. U.S. Total

Male 3,760 (73.0%)

1,394 (27.0%) 5,154

Female 299 (51.1%)

286 (48.9%) 585

Total 4,059 (70.7%)

1,680 (29.3%) 5,739

Sex and CEOs

Not CEO CEO Total

Male 4,669 (90.6%)

485 (9.4%) 5,154

Female 577 (98.6%)

8 (1.4%) 585

Total 5,246 (91.4%) 493 (8.6%) 5,739

Women in the Global Corporate Elite

• American women are most numerous. Why?• The near-exclusion of women from the CEO

ranks means that emerging TCC “interest groups” are likely to be largely “all-male” domains. e.g. the North American Competitiveness Council.

The TCC at Work

• Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, also known as NAFTA 2.0 seeks “deep intergration” of the U.S., Canadian, and Mexican economies. Key advisors are 30 CEOs “from” each country (the North American Competitiveness Council):

• These 30 individuals, two of whom are women, have significant transnational ties within North America and beyond.