Multinational Corporation Behavior in Time of War (Collaborative Research, NSF RAPID Award #: 2234188/9, $125,999, with Rachel Wellhausen)

This project examines the extent to which countries can successfully wield economic (dis-)integration as a foreign policy tool. That is, when and why can countries use economic statecraft to pressure commercial firms to make investments consistent with their foreign policy interests? The project will examine the universe of foreign-owned firms in one aggressor state, and researchers will use multilingual media reports, corporate press releases, and other textual sources to document the behavior of MNCs toward the aggressor state. Findings from this project will provide new insights into the relative success of home countries’ economic statecraft strategies against an aggressor nation under conditions of deep economic globalization. This project will also benefit both graduate and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds through hands-on training and practical experience with data management and analysis.

This project examines multinational corporation (MNC) responses to a common host country political shock, while making clear the depths of heterogeneity in MNC behavior, even and especially in light of remarkably strong economic sanctions. The theory incorporates not only host but also home country political risk, and the effects of political risk on decision-making at entry and exit, which addresses serious lacunae in the ability of the literature to explain disruptions in foreign direct investment (FDI) due to aggressive war. The project will generate a public, replicable dataset covering the universe of MNCs operating in a nation-state that initiated an aggressive war. The researchers will document firm-level behavior following the invasion, based on an analysis of a multilingual corpus of media reports, corporate press releases, and related textual sources. A combined theoretical and empirical goal of this project is to identify the relevance of economic statecraft and home country political interests—whether favoring divestment or otherwise—to MNC decision-making under conditions of contemporary economic globalization.

Working Paper:

“Exiting Russia” (with Rachel Wellhausen) (Paper)