The ‘making of’ national giants: technology and governments shaping the international expansion of oil companies from Brazil and China
Flavia Pereira de Carvalho & Andrea Goldstein
#2008-021
This chapter analyses foreign direct investments (henceforth FDI) in the
oil industry from two large emerging economies, Brazil and China, with
the purpose to understand the role of Governments and technology in the
internationalisation strategies of those firms. The chapter shows that
the Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, internationalised in the 1970s in
order to secure oil resources, and throughout time developed
technological capabilities that explain its current success and
worldwide expansion. Chinese firms have risen later and are making their
outward moves in order to catch up technologically with the world's
leading firms.
Key words: multinational corporations, emerging economies, oil
companies, technology, technological exploitation, competitive
advantages.
JEL Codes: F23, O25, O38, O57
UNU-MERIT Working Papers
ISSN 1871-9872