CorporateClout:

TheInfluenceoftheWorldsLargest100
EconomicEntities

TraceyKeysandThomasMalnight

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited

CorporateClout:
TheInfluenceoftheWorldsLargest100EconomicEntities
TraceyKeysandThomasW.Malnight

Oftheworlds100largesteconomicentitiesin2009,44arecorporations.Ifyoulookatthetop
150economicentities,theproportionofcorporationsrisesto59%.
Thelargestin2009,WalMartStores,hadrevenuesexceedingtherespectiveGDPsof174countriesi
includingSweden,SaudiArabiaandVenezuelaandemployedover2millionpeople,morethanthe
entirepopulationofQatar.Ifitwasacountry,itwouldbethe22ndlargestintheworld.Shellhas
biggerrevenuesthanthecombinedGDPsofPakistanandBangladesh,thesixthandseventhmost
populousnationsintheworld,togetherhometo350millionpeople.Sinopec,Chinasleading
energyandchemicalcompany,isbiggerthanSingapore.TheinsurerAXAisbiggerthanNigeria.
Evenwiththetroublesoftheautomotiveindustry,FordisbiggerthanNewZealand.
Together,the44companiesinourtop100listgeneratedrevenuesofUS$6.4trillionin2009,
equivalenttoover11%ofglobalGDP.iiThesecombinedrevenuesarelargerthanthecombined
economiesof155countries,thatis,allthecountriesintheworldexceptthelargest40intermsof
GDP.
Thecontributionofthecompaniesinourtop100toglobalemploymentfallsfarshortoftheir
economicclout.Together,theyemployedover13.5millionpeoplein2009,just0.4%oftheworlds
economicallyactivepopulation.iiiHowever,thisstillexceedsbyoveramillionpeoplethecombined
totalpopulationsofSwitzerlandandSingapore.
TheChangingShapeofCorporateClout
Ouranalysisofthe2009topeconomicentitieswasconductedagainstabackdropofglobalfinancial
andeconomicturmoil.Therecessionwasbitingdeepintobothnationalandcorporatecoffers.So
wealsoanalyzedthetrendsoverthelastdecadeandlookedbacktoearliersimilaranalyses,such
astheoneconductedbySarahAndersonandJohnCavanaghnotedinthesidebar.
Interestinglythenumberofcorporationsamongtheworlds100largesteconomicentitieshasbeen
fallingslightlyoverthelast15years.In1996,AndersonandCavanaghfound51inthetop100,
whilein2000wefound50.By2005thishadfallento45andinboth2008and2009,thenumber
was44.Thistrendoffersvarioushypotheseswhichneedfurtherexploration.Onepossibilityisthat
thelargernationaleconomiesmaybegrowingfasterthancorporations,whichmayreflecttherapid
growthamongRDEsandthefactthatmanyoftheworldslargestcorporationsareheadquartered
inandhavetraditionallyfocusedonslowgrowthdevelopedeconomies.Anotherhypothesisisthat

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited2

GeeneratingtheTTop100List
Therearemanyp
possiblewaystto
mparetherela
ativeeconomiccsize
com
ofnationsversusscorporations.A
onein1996by
keyystudywasdo
SarrahAndersona
andJohn
CavanaghoftheInstituteofPo
olicy
udies(updated
din2001)using
Stu
GD
DPfornationsa
andrevenuesffor
corrporations.(SeeeCorporate
Em
mpires,Multina
ationalMonitorr,
Deecember1996,Volume17,
Nu
umber12.)Instricteconomic
terrmsGDPisam
measureofvalu
ue
ad
dded,althoughcalculatedonan
inccomebasisitca
anbeusedasa
a
pro
oxyforanation
nsspending
power.
NCTADsuggesttsthevaluead
dded
UN
ofcorporationsissabettermeasure
anrevenuesan
ndin2002
tha
publishedanalysisthatsuggestted
29corporatesweereinamongthe
orldstop100eeconomicentitties
wo
in2
2000.(Seeww
ww.unctad.org))
Ho
owever,thecha
allengeinreaching
theesefiguresissu
ubstantialdueto
diff
fferentcorpora
ateaccounting
pra
actices.

inccreasingcom
mpetitionam
mongcompanies,particu
ularlyinfast
gro
owthmarkettsinAsiaandbeyond,hasmeantth
hatthepieis
becomingsharredmorewidely.
Thislatterhypothesisisinterestingpaarticularlybeecausethe
analysisofthecompaniesappearingin
neachyearslistandinthe
FortuneGlobal500annualranking,fro
omwhichth
hecompanybase
dataissourced
dshowsan
nincreasingnumberofccorporationss
fro
omRDEsapp
pearingeach
hyear.Adeecadeagoth
helistofthee
larrgestcompaniesinthew
worldwasdo
ominatedbyyfirmsfrom
developedeco
onomies;now
wFortunesGlobal5002010showssthat
3o
ofthetop10
0areChinesee,withalmo
ost20%(95ccompanies)of
Glo
obal500firm
msheadquarrteredinrap
pidlydevelop
pingeconom
mies,
anincreaseofover50%veersusjust5yyearsearlierr.Amongth
he44
0economiceentitieslistfor2009are4
companiesonourtop100
outhKorea.This
companiesfromRDEs,3frromChinaand1fromSo
halfthenum
mberofthep
previousyeaarandmayreflecttheim
mpact
ish
oftheeconom
miccrisis,astthetrendfro
om2005to2
2008wasfo
oran
mberofcompaniesfrom
mRDEsinthe
eTop100list.
inccreasingnum
Intterestinglyth
hefallintheenumberofcompaniesheadquartered
intthedevelopedcountriessisalmosteentirelyduettoJapanese
companiesfalllingofftheTTop100list,withonly3makingthe2008
n2000.ThenumbersofUScompanies
and2009listsversus16in
hasincreasedby1overthisperiodto17in2009,whileEurop
pean
mber20in2
2009versus17in2000.
companiesnum
NumberofC
N
CompaniesffromDevelo
opedCountriesandRDEEsin
theTop100
0GlobalEco
onomicEntities

Asrevenuesarea
amore
nsistentlycomp
parablemeasu
ure
con
wo
orldwide,weha
aveelectedtouse
GD
DPversusreven
nuesasinprevvious
com
mparablestud
dies.Whilethis
ma
ayoverstateth
henumberof
corrporateamong
gtheworlds
larrgesteconomiccentities,
UN
NCTADsworksshowsthatthee
meessageremainssconsistent
corrporatesaream
mongthelargeest
eco
onomicentitiessintheworlda
and
assuchhaveinflu
uence.
So
ources:IMF,Fo
ortune,SDGLAn
nalysis

StraategyDynamicsGlobalLim
mited3

Ifwewereto
oextendthe
elisttothettop150entitties,in2009
9thenumberofcompan
niesfromRD
DEs
wouldtriple
w
to12.Again
nthetrendffrom2000isclearastheenumberofRDEcompaniesintheTTop
150globalec
1
conomicenttitiesrisesfrrom5to12d
duringthisp
period,withChinaaccou
untingfor5o
of
thesecompa
t
aniesin2009
9versus2in
n2000.
NumberofCompaniesfromDevvelopedCou
untriesandR
RDEsintheTTop150Glo
obalEconom
mic
En
ntities

So
ources:IMF,Fo
ortune,SDGLAn
nalysis

Thedevelop
T
mpaniesorigginatinginRD
DEsintocon
ntendersforgloballeadeershipinthee
mentofcom
marketspace
m
esinwhichttheycompette,hasbeen
nassistedbyy:FavorablestartingpositionsinRDEEs,
theambition
t
ntogoforglloballeadersshipandaw
willingnessto
oreachoutsideforrapid
dgrowth.iv
Theyhaveal
T
sobeenassistedbyagrrowingandeenthusiasticaudiencein
ndevelopedeconomiesffor
theradicalin
t
nnovationsttheybringfromRDEstodevelopedeeconomies.
Whilethere
W
maynotbeahugegrow
wthinthenu
umberofcorrporatemakkingfuturelistsofthe
worldslarge
w
esteconomiccentities,w
wedoexpecttoseegreatterdiversificcationintermsoforiginof
thecompani
t
esasthesenewglobalcchallengersprogress.
Influencean
ndImpact
Thesheersiz
T
zeofmajorgglobalcorpo
orationswhicchoperateaacrossmultip
plecountriesandregion
ns
meanstheir
m
combinedin
nfluenceand
dimpactish
huge,onmanyaspectso
ofhowwelivveandworkk.
Theireconom
T
micandemp
ploymentco
ontributionssustainnatio
ons,regionssandlocalco
ommunitiesin
manycasese
m
exceedingth
heinfluenceofthenatio
onsthathosttthemallo
owingthemtoinfluencee
nationspoli
n
ciesandactions,botheconomicallyyandpoliticaally.Arecen
ntillustration
nofthis
influenceisttheinvestigaationbyUSSSenatorsofBPslobbyin
ngforapriso
onertransferragreementt
betweenthe
b
eUKandLibyya,tohelpssecureaUS$
$900million
nexploration
nandproducctiondeal.TThe
questionwas
q
swhetherth
hiswasconn
nectedtotheereleaseofLockerbiebomberAbde
elbasetAlial
Megrahibyt
M
theScottishExecutiveoncompassio
onateground
ds.Whileth
hepartiesinvolvedmain
ntain

StraategyDynamicsGlobalLim
mited4

thereisnoconnection,thecaseisjustoneillustrationofhowcorporateempirescaninfluence
geopoliticalrelationsandactions.
Transnationalcorporationsareamajorforceintheglobalizationofbusinesspractices,knowledge,
technologyandinnovation,assistingrapidlydevelopingeconomies(RDEs)tomorequicklyconverge
theiroutputs,standardsandpracticeswiththoseofdevelopednations.Forexample,corporateR&D
spendingcontinuestorisedespitetheeconomicdownturn.Booz&Co.sGlobalInnovation1000Survey
showsa5.7%increaseinR&Dspendingin2008,belowthe10%increasein2007butclosetothe7.1%five
yearcompoundannualgrowthratefortheGlobalInnovation1000.Spendingincreasedmostrapidlyinthe
BRICcountries,withR&DspendbycompaniesheadquarteredinIndiaandChinaincreasingover30%per
annumfrom200308,buildingonagrowingpoolofhighlyeducatedknowledgeworkers.
ShareofTotalGlobalR&DSpending

%ofglobalR&Dspending

45
40

Americas

35

U.S.

30

Asia

25

Japan

20

China

15

India

10

Europe

RestofWorld

0
2008

2009

2010

Sources:R&DMagazine(EmergingEconomiesDriveGlobalR&DGrowth),2009;Booz&CoGlobalInnovation1000study2009

Advancesinknowledge,skillsandtechnologiesofferrapidlydevelopingeconomiesthepotentialto
leapfrogoldertechnologies,andfurtheracceleratetheirgrowthrates,forexamplethroughthe
muchfasterpenetrationofmobiletelephonyversusfixedtelephonyinRDEs.
Thelargestglobalcompaniesalsodrivetrade,whichhasgrownmuchfasterthanGDPoverthelast
fourdecades.TheWorldBankestimatesthatfrom1970and2004theshareofexportstoGDP
morethandoubledtoover25%by2030itexpectsglobalexportstoapproach35%ofGDP.
Despiteasharpdownturnintradeduetotheeconomiccrisis,tradehasreboundedstronglyin
2010.

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited5

Gro
owthinValu
ueofGlobalExports

Average Annual Growth Rate 2000 to 2008 (%)

AverageAnnualGrowthRate2000to2008(%)

25%

Fuels&Mining
20%
Products
Transportatio
on
Services
OtherCom
mmercial
Servic
ces
15%
Total
Merchandise

TotalCommeercial
Servicess
10%
Trravel

Agricultural
Products
M
Manufactures

5%

0%
0

5000

10000

00
1500

20000

ValueofWorrldExports200
08(US$billion
n)

Source:WorldTr
S
radeOrganizatio
on

Thegrowthi
T
intrade,alongwitheverrexpandinggeographicreachofmaajormultinattionalsmean
ns
productsand
p
dservicesfro
omonecountrycanbemadeavailaableinothercountries,influencing
culture,purc
c
chasingbehaavioursandlifestyles.M
McDonaldsmayadaptitsofferingsto
olocaltastess,but
ittscoreremaainsUSfastffood,whichcanbeexpeeriencedonthestreetso
ofParisorTokyo.Similaarly
mediaconte
m
nt,suchasffilmsandtelevisionproggrams,which
harereadilyyavailablew
worldwideviaa
manydiffere
m
enttechnolo
ogiesandchaannelsfromcinemastointernetlinkkedcomputeerstomobile
computingd
c
devices.Aspirationalgoo
odsfortheeemergingmiiddleclassin
nRDEsinclud
demany
Westernlu

uxurybrandssandtheyytakeprideiinbuyingthe
erealthing.Asgoodsandservices
becomemor
b
rereadilyavvailableworldwide,corporationswillcontinueto
oinfluenceaaglobalizatio
onof
cultures.Thi
c
sisalreadyb
becomingm
moreevidenttamongtheyoungergen
nerationswhohavegrown
upinadigita
u
alworld,whereattitudesareoftenm
moresimilarrwithinageenerationacrossborderss,
thanbetwee
t
engenerationsinasingleecountry.
LookingAhe
L
ead:NationssVersusCorporations?
Lookingatth
L
hecloutofcorporateandtheintricaatewebsofiinfluencetheeyhaveglob
bally,an
intriguingqu
uestioniswh
hohasmorepower,natiionsorcorpo
orations?Insheerecono
omicterms,the
eweretocom
mparegovernment
largestnationsprobablyystillretainttheedge,altthoughifwe
revenues/bu
r
udgetsratherthanGDPw
withcorporaaterevenues,therelativveeconomiccpowerbetw
ween
v
nationsand
n
nfavourofco
orporations..
corporationswouldshifftstronglyin
StraategyDynamicsGlobalLim
mited6

However,forsmallerandpoorernationsthequestionisrelevantandrelationshipsbetween
nations,thesocietiestheyserveandcorporationsbecomecritical.InthiscontextBotswanaoffers
agoodrolemodel.Sinceindependencein1966,Botswanaseconomicmiraclehasbeenwidely
reported.Overthelastfourdecadesthisnationof1.9millionpeoplehastransformeditselfwith
amongthehighesteconomicgrowthratesintheworldandpercapitaGDPputtingitfirmlyamong
middleincomecountries,althoughitstillfacessubstantialchallengesintermsofincomeinequality,
health(HIV)andenvironment,mostnotablydesertification.AkeypartofBotswanassuccesshas
beentherelationshipbetweenthestateandbusiness,withhighlevelsofeconomicfreedom,
partnershipsbetweentheprivateandpublicsectorinkeyindustries,e.g.Debswana,thelargest
diamondminingoperationinthecountryis50%ownedbythegovernment,acompetitivebanking
systemandprotectionofintellectualpropertyrights.
ThemutualinterdependencedemonstratedbetweennationandcorporationinBotswana
highlightsaselfevidenttruth,onewhichisoftenpromotedunderthebannerofcorporatesocial
responsibility:Nations,societiesandbusinessesAREinterdependent.Onecannotexistwithoutthe
others.Thechallengeisinrecognizingthisfact,anddoingsomethingconstructiveaboutit.Fortoo
long,businesses,includingtheoneslistedinourtop100,haveviewedcorporatesocial
responsibility(CSR)asjustanothersourceofpressureorpassingfad.Butascustomers,employees,
suppliersandindeed,societymorebroadlyplaceincreasingimportanceonCSR,someleaders
havestartedtolookatitasacreativeopportunitytofundamentallystrengthentheirbusinesses
whilecontributingtosocietyatthesametime.TheyviewCSRascentraltotheiroverallstrategies,
helpingthemtocreativelyaddresskeybusinessissues.vi
Thechallengeforthemajorcorporateswithglobalclout,boththoseonourtop100andbeyond,
istorecognizeandtoactonthemutualinterdependencebetweennations,societiesandfirms.
Becausethelocusofwealthcreatedbythesemajortransnationalshastraditionallybenefitted
thedeveloped,wealthiesteconomieswheremostareheadquartered,thereisincreasing
pressuretotackletheinequalitythiscreatesglobally.
Ultimately,itsnotaquestionofnationsversuscorporations.Buildingsolidrelationships
betweennationsandfirmsissimplynotoptional,andinfactcandrivesubstantialbenefitson
bothsides.

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited7

TheWorldsLargest100EconomicEntities
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49

Country/Corporation
UnitedStates
Japan
China
Germany
France
UK
Italy
Brazil
Spain
Canada
India*
Russia*
Australia
Mexico
Korea
Netherlands
Turkey
Indonesia
Switzerland*
Belgium*
Poland
WALMARTSTORES
Sweden*
Norway
Austria
TaiwanProvinceofChina
SaudiaArabia*
Venezuela
Greece
IslamicRepublicofIran
Argentina
Denmark
SouthAfrica*
ROYALDUTCHSHELL
EXXONMOBIL
Thailand
BP
Finland
UnitedArabEmirates*
Columbia*
Portugal
Ireland
HongKongSAR
TOYOTAMOTOR
JAPANPOSTHOLDINGS
CzechRepublic*
Israel
Malaysia
Egypt

GDP/Revenues(US$million,2009)
14,256,275
5,068,059
4,908,982
3,352,742
2,675,915
2,183,607
2,118,264
1,574,039
1,464,040
1,336,427
1,235,975
1,229,227
997,201
874,903
832,512
794,777
615,329
539,377
494,622
470,400
430,197
408,214
405,440
382,983
381,880
378,969
369,671
337,295
330,780
330,461
310,065
309,252
287,219
285,129
284,650
263,889
246,148
238,128
229,971
228,836
227,855
227,781
210,731
204,106
202,196
194,828
194,825
191,463
187,954

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited8

Rank
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

Country/Corporation
SINOPEC
STATEGRID
Singapore
AXA
Nigeria*
Pakistan*
CHINANATIONALPETROLEUM
CHEVRON
INGGROUP
Chile*
Romania
Phillipines
GENERALELECTRIC
TOTAL
BANKOFAMERICACORP.
VOLKSWAGEN
Algeria*
CONOCOPHILLIPS
BNPPARIBAS
Hungary*
Peru*
ASSICURAZIONIGENERALI
ALLIANZ
AT&T
CARREFOUR
FORDMOTOR
NewZealand
ENI
Ukraine*
J.P.MORGAN&CHASE&CO
HEWLETTPACKARD
E.ON
BERKSHIREHATHAWAY
Kuwait*
GDFSUEZ
DAIMLER
NIPPONTELEGRAPH&TELEPHONE
Kazakhstan*
SAMSUNG
CITIGROUP
VERIZONCOMMUNICATIONS
MCKESSON
CRDITAGRICOLE
BANCOSANTANDER
GENERALMOTORS
HSBCHOLDINGS
SIEMENS
AMERICANINTL.GROUP
LLOYDSBANKINGGROUP
CARDINALHEALTH
NESTL

GDP/Revenues(US$million,2009)
187,518
184,496
177,132
175,257
173,428
166,515
165,496
163,527
163,204
161,781
161,521
160,991
156,779
155,887
150,450
146,205
140,848
139,515
130,708
129,407
126,766
126,012
125,999
123,018
121,452
118,308
117,795
117,235
116,190
115,632
114,552
113,849
112,493
111,309
111,069
109,700
109,656
109,273
108,927
108,785
107,808
106,632
106,538
106,345
104,632
103,736
103,605
103,189
102,967
99,613
99,114

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited9

ListSources:FortuneGlobal5002010,IMF.*Estimates
_______________________
AbouttheAuthors
TraceyKeysisDirectorofStrategyDynamicsGlobalLimitedandalsoworkswiththeInternationalInstitute
forManagementDevelopment(IMD),inLausanne,Switzerland,whereThomasMalnightisaprofessorof
strategyandgeneralmanagement.
TraceyKeysandThomasW.Malnight.Allrightsreserved.Nottobeusedorreproducedwithout
permission.
Formoreinformation,seewww.globaltrends.com.

Thenumberofcountriesintheworldmaybeconsideredtobe195,basedonthe192membercountriesof
theUnitedNations,plusVaticanCity,KosovoandtheProvinceofTaiwan,whichoperatesautonomously
fromitsparentnationtherepublicofChina.
ii

2009GlobalGDPestimatedatUS$57.9trillion.(Source:IMF).

iii

2009Globaleconomicallyactivepopulationestimatedat3.21billion.(Source:ILO).

iv

FormoreonthisseeWhenCheapBecomesChic,features,www.globaltrends.com.

SeeCorporateGoliathsbyCharlesGray,MultinationalMonitor,June1999,Volume20,Number6for
moreonthisapproach.
vi

SeeBeyondPhilanthropyandPropaganda:MakingtheMostofCorporateSocialResponsibilitybyTracey
Keys,ThomasMalnightandKeesvanderGraaf,onwww.globaltrends.com.FirstpublishedinTheMcKinsey
Quarterlyonline,www.mckinseyquarterly.cominDecember2009.

StrategyDynamicsGlobalLimited10