ASEAN development and multinational corporations : a study of the perception of the senior managers of MNCs on ASEAN development

Abstract

The object of the study was.to investigate the feelings .and reactions of the senior managers of multinational corporations, (mcs), to the development of the Association of South East ~sian Nations, (ASEAN). ASEAN is a regional grouping of six developing nations formed in 1967 primarily to promote economic cooperation among member states, Though the Association is now in its 20th year of existence, the level of ASEAN economic corporation is currently superficial at best. In recent years however, ASEAN governments both individually and collectively are increasingly turning to the private sector for new leadership to speed up the development of ASEAN as a regional economic force. These new governmental initiatives are important to ASEAN. This is because not only is the increased pace of private sector investment critical to the health of the economies of the individual member states but more fundamentally, the successful development of ASEAN as a regional force in international trade would help project ASEAN as a more credible economic grouping. In the private sector, MNCs, because of their access to large investment funds and their international networks, are vital forces for ASEAN development. Besides the traditional strengths of mcs, this study hypothesised that organisations whose senior managements in the region were supportive of ASEAN could make greater contributions to ASEAN development.