Globalism and Its Discontents: A Case Study of Two Turkish MNCs Between Globalism and Nationalism

This paper examines the influence of national identity on the political activities of emerging country multinational corporations (EMNCs) in the context of the grand challenge of rising nationalism and populism. Drawing on a transnational social space (TSS) approach combined with an identity work perspective, we analyze how two prominent Turkish multinational corporations (MNCs) strategically constructed and negotiated their organizational identities through different discourses within a national context marked by competing ideological narratives. Through a longitudinal comparative case study of an “elite” versus a “non-elite” firm between 2007 and 2022, our findings illustrate how deeply rooted historical identities, shaped by Turkey’s complex relationship with Westernization, lead to divergent strategic responses to global norms and the evolving nationalist discourse. Taken together, the analysis offers nuanced insights into the interplay between globalism and nationalism in shaping EMNC political agency.