Multinational enterprises play a vital role in the economic activity of most developing countries. In India MNE affiliates dominate whole sectors of industry - such as plastics and pharmaceuticals - characterised by a high degree of product differentiation, complex technology and high skill intensity. Such advantages, combined with intangible assets, centralised decision making and global outlook lead to a divergence of approach between MNEs and their local counterparts in host developing countries.

This book analyses the inter-industry pattern of MNEs in India in the framework of the internationalisation theory, also examining the comparative behaviour of MNE affiliates and LCEs in terms of conduct and performance. The book goes further to explain the different performance of these two strategic groups by assessing profit and export.