No study of globalisation is possible, nor is it thinkable, without referring to China, India, and Russia, that is to say, without an analysis of their firms and including them in the global network of firms. The three countries under study had socialist economies and are now going through a process of transition towards a market economy with various degrees of success and, more importantly, using different methods as far as the relationship between the State and the firms is concerned. Also, to a large extent, researchers in economics have until now viewed these countries in a somewhat unbalanced manner and they have seldom been the object of a comparative study from the perspective of the globalisation of their firms.The evolution in policy issues has been strongly backed by a similar evolution in economic theory, the effects strongly felt in former socialist countries, namely Russia and China, as well as in countries which had and still have a large 'public sector' like India. Neither the markets nor the States are nowadays seen as perfect, and this book deals at many places much more with their subtle interactions or coordination, than opposition.
