ABSTRACT
Present theories on multinational corporations (MNCs) and technology transfer have achieved several! major breakthroughs. They are schematically summarized in this work as the “established theoretical synthesis”, resulting from the contribution of three major theoretical currents: the product cycle, the industrial organization and the theory of foreign direct investment based on comparative advantages. This paper challenges the assumptions of this synthesis: according to the author, it is but a raw conceptual mix of theoretical generalizations based only on the manufacturing sector of American and British MNCs. As an alternative, the author compares that synthesis with evidence coming from one of the most active sectors in the North-South technology transfer: the energy industry. The comparison will allow to shed some light on the limits of the theoretical model when applied to a non-manufacturing industry, and to the relationship between developing and developed countries.
KEYWORDS:
Multinational; electric sector