The international dimension of business networks has remained relatively unexplored, mainly because international business writers focus upon multinational enterprises and network writers ignore international issues. In this book Professors Alan Rugman and Joseph D'Cruz bridge the literature on networks and multinationals by introducing the new concept of the flagship firm.

In each business network strategic leadership is provided by the flagship firm, which is defined as a multinational enterprise. It has other partners: key suppliers; key customers; key competitors; and key partners in the non-business infrastructure. These business networks are usually located in the 'triad' regions of the European Union, North America, and Japan. There are strong cross-border network linkages within these regions, but less 'globalization' than regional economic integration.

The theory of the flagship firm/five partners model is applied to the telecommunications, chemicals, automotive, and electronics sectors, amongst others, and the book reports on both empirical studies and field research of the international competitiveness of these sectors.

The book will be of interest to academics, students, and professionals in the areas of international business, strategic management, political science, law, and sociology.

Alan Rugman's profile page

Joseph R. D'Cruz's profile page

Alan Rugman is Thames Water Fellow in Strategic Management, Templeton College, University of Oxford. Previous positions have included Professor of International Business, University of Toronto (19871998); Professor of International Business, Delhousie University (19801987); and Visiting Professor at Brandeis University, UCLA, Western Washington University, and Columbia Business School.

Joseph R. D'Cruz is Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He also consults widely with multinational corporations in the areas of global strategy and international operations. (Major clients include ICI, Exxon Corporation, Price Waterhouse, and DSM.) He was awarded the Touche Ross Award for the best article in Business Quarterly entitled The Globalization of Manufacturing (with Professor Fleck).

Professors Rugman and D'Cruz are co-editors of the Kodak series of studies on Canada's international competitiveness.

'the case studies are excellent illustrations and can be used as both teaching tools and short examples of how to summarize flagship structures. The beauty of the approach is that it provides a skeleton on which to break down quite simply some complex organizational arrangements. In this sense, it is a very useful toolkit for managers, and sections of the book would resonate with managers' Academy of Management Review

'the book is a fine addition to the literature and serves to provide the reader interested in this research with a "one-stop shop".' Academy of Management Review

'Particularly useful ... pages on implications of the flagship model for managers and implications for network partners.' Long Range Planning, Vol 33, 2000

'raises the important question how asymmetric decision power in global flagship networks affects regional development' Journal of International Business Studies