Firms offshore. In the 1960s the firm was an entity defined within national borders, with offshore ventures limited to the export and import of goods. While this may remain an adequate description of many firms, the 2011 corporate landscape abounds with large multinationals that look quite different. Sharp falls in both communication and transport costs have made it cheaper to move both physical goods and ideas across the world. Large firms shop around to find the best combination of lucrative markets, skilled workers and low costs, often locating different parts of the business in different countries. increasingly conduct their activities
In recent years China and other low-wage countries in the east have attracted attention as hubs for the world’s manufacturing. It is not uncommon to find that everything from your jumper to the chip powering your mobile phone was made over 9,000 kilometres away. And it is not just production that moves offshore. The trend encompasses some service activities — for example, no one will have escaped news of the ubiquitous Indian call centre.
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