Without question, the world economy grows more complex as time moves ever forward. Giant corporations rise and fall, and the dot.com economy create billionaires virtually overnight. In light of these growing complications, the business environment evolves for better or worse. Competition forces companies to enter markets of varying degrees of viability, and ethics often go out the window in favor of profits and self enrichment. In this essay, more specifically, the researcher will discuss the role of United States-based multinational firms in these different issues, as well as the decision-making responsibility of corporate boards.

             As previously mentioned, U.S.-based multinational firms have found themselves in a variety of complex arenas, including mature market economies and high potential/high growth economies. Both have distinct advantages and disadvantages; when entering mature market economies, U.S.-based companies have an advantage in that the innovation and resulting technology that a developed country like the U.S. brings to mature markets can redefine and perhaps resurrect a mature market. Improvements to current market offerings or something new that revolutionizes a market can compel laggards to make a buying decision and innovators to buy a "new and improved" version of something previously obtained. Conversely, without proper planning and execution, entrance into a mature market can be a late arrival after the train of opportunity has left the station, so to speak. The same innovation that brings value to mature markets can be phenomenal in high potential/growth economies. A unique offering, for example, can become the standard within a given market at the beginning of the market cycle, or it can overtake competitors in established market cycles. Either way, the potential is impressive; however, the dynamic and brutally competitive atmosphere of new and emerging markets can crush multinational firms if the firms do not fully understand the culture and background of the segment they are entering.