Since mid-1990s, a number of Korean big businesses have extended their businesses abroad on the basis of abundant capitals, accumulated skills and experiences. By investing in foreign countries and founding local plants, they have been finding larger ...
Since mid-1990s, a number of Korean big businesses have extended their businesses abroad on the basis of abundant capitals, accumulated skills and experiences. By investing in foreign countries and founding local plants, they have been finding larger markets easily, making higher profits, and upgrading their brand-images as a global company. The purpose of this study is to examine globalization of Korean big businesses and elucidate which factors cause their globalization and how those factors influence it. This study compares and analyzes cases of Hyundai and Toyota Motors Co. As a result, this study shows that globalization of Hyundai and Toyota Motors Co. is led by political and social factors like trade disputes, government's auto industrial policies and the relations between labor and capital rather than economic factors like foreign exchange rate and market size. When it comes to examining globalization of Hyundai Motors Co., especially, it seems to be caused by domestic political and social condition such as its antagonistic labor-capital relationship. In the case of Toyota Motors Co., trade pressure from the United States, that is, international political situation caused its globalization directly. Therefore, This study suggests that globalization of Korean big businesses can be more clarified by applying the political economic perspective which can explain and understand a variety of political, social and economic situations and interests systematically and analytically.