This book is a study of the emergence of international business. It immerses itself in the topic of how companies can control income-generating assets in foreign countries, the key element often used to define a multinational enterprise, and propounds the notion that control of crucial dispositions by foreign companies can be achieved by other means than direct foreign investment - cash flow and portfolio ownership. a Internationalisation and Strategic Control analyses the extent to which a firm can control the investments of foreign companies in the field of supply and maintenance of production machinery. It achieves this through a case study of how F.L. Smidth & Co., global leaders in providing technology for the cement industry since the 1890s, managed to achieve a vital influence over, and control of, cement-producing companies in Asia in the period 1890-1938. The study examines how this strategy was promoted by some internal and external factors and circumstances, and hindered by others. a In highlighting strategic tools and initiatives other than cash flow and portfolio ownership, the book applies concepts taken from a broad range of research fields covering social science, cultural analysis, micro history, Actor-Network-Theory and industrial archaeology. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of international business, business history and globalisation.
