Influence of innovative factors of the global economic space on the
investment and corporate strategy of TNCs. As a result of the rapid development of
new technologies, according to UNCTAD studies, the concept has emerged as
"technologically advanced TNCs." Technological TNCs are the leading drivers of the
global digital economy, because of the fact that they provide development of the
infrastructure and digital instruments of the corporation's economic development. The
digital economy changes the direction of investing in TNCs and has recently increased
the number of technological TNCs. Such TNCs have changed the traditional notion of
job creation and asset structure, have developed the introduction of a new attitude to
intellectual property as a necessary capital, which creates competitive assets of TNCs
in the global economic environment.
As a result, there has been a rapid increase in the number of technological TNCs,
for example, compared to 2010, the number doubled in 2016, which shows a significant
level of corporate income in total world assets and operating income, resulting from an
increase in the trend towards the development of innovative technology TNCs. So in
2010 in the market of world innovations there were only 4 TNCs, but today there are
already 10 [5; 9; 10].
It should also be emphasized that UNCTAD, the WTO and the EFTA are
constantly exploring issues relating to the geographical distribution of technologically-
developed TNCs on the basis of FDI studies as an important component of the
international investment of TNCs. Thus, 100 TNCs were divided into three categories,
namely:
- Technically developed TNCs (this group includes TNCs operating in a wide
range of information technology (IT) such as computer manufacturing, various
precision devices and their components - Apple, Samsung, Hon Hai, or software and
digital software developers - Microsoft, SAP. The company's data in this group not
only supplies IT but also provides digital services on its own. However, this group does
not include TNCs that are close to electronic manufacturing, for example, the consumer
electronics sector, for example Philips);
- Telecommunication TNCs (include providers of communication infrastructure
and communications);
- Other TNCs (this group includes all the others - not digital TNCs, that is from
other sectors. TNCs in this category are more information service consumers than
manufacturers or suppliers).
The methodology of UNCTAD is useful and up-to-date, given the state of the
economic development of TNCs in different countries of the world. As can be seen
from Table 1, such information giants as Amazon and Facebook do not appear on the
list of the 100 largest TNCs. Then, in turn, Verizon and AT&T, whose national assets
and revenues are large, but abroad, their assets are insignificant.
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