Corporations as Grand Strategists: From Historical Prototypes to Contemporary Archetypes

The return of the state and intensifying great power rivalries have made grand strategy a central concern for corporations. Extending the concept of nonmarket strategy into the realm of international balance-of-power dynamics, this book analyzes sixty-five historical and contemporary cases of firms acting as strategic actors alongside states in global power competition. The book shows how corporations cultivate forms of smart power that complement and, at times, surpass those of the state, integrating corporate and grand strategic objectives. It identifies six archetypes of corporations as grand strategists: the exceptionalist, the techno-utopian, the statist, the semi-mercantilist, the stewardly, and the state-like corporation. Tracing their lineage to early modern empire-building and enduring through Cold War rivalries to today’s U.S.–China competition, these archetypes offer a framework linking corporate strategy to diverse hard and soft power industries, varieties of capitalism, state power, and strategic intent.