IN PRACTICE: GLOBAL SUCCESS STORIES
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and is concentrating on extracting more revenue from its existing
subscribers.
I-mode is not the ``killer app'' that will clinch the titanic battle for
control of the world's mobile markets; time will tell, but it is more prob-
able that it will ultimately be seen as an effective medium-term tactic
to stay in a game which could be fought intensely for a decade or more
and is as likely to be as powerful an agent for change as the Internet.
KEY INSIGHTS
» The ease and fluidity with which NTT has been able to acquire
positions in, and alliances with, foreign telcos (as have foreign
telcos in Japan with NTT's competitors) is indicative of just how
much has been achieved by the process of globalization, in the
sense of freer trade, technology exchange, and capital flows
between the major trading blocs. In the 1970s, for instance,
such deals would have been unthinkable.
» Nevertheless, there is little evidence here of the development
of truly ``transnational'' MNCs. NTT has enjoyed favorable treat-
ment over licenses in its mother country, Japan, while telcos of
European origin fell foul of their own states' licensing policies.
National origin continues to be a major factor in the intricate
chess game played between MNCs and governments.
» The extraordinary speed of developments in communications
has plainly outpaced governments' capacity to respond effec-
tively. At the time of writing, a world recession looks likely,
which may dampen down the exuberance of IT-based industries
and give states a chance to catch up and consider just how
much laissez-faire they are prepared to accept in what has been
dubbed the ``Information Age.''
NESTLŽ
E GLOBAL CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
NestlŽ
e, the world's largest food company, was founded in 1867 by a
Swiss pharmacist, Henri NestlŽ
e, who developed the first substitute for
breast milk for babies. Faced with a small domestic market, the company
went global early. Today it has a total workforce of approximately
