During the mid 1990’s the International Monetary Fund has defined globalisation as: ‘The growing interdependence of countries world-wide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and also through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology’ (Turner, 2006). Over the years, this interdependence of countries worldwide has increased dramatically. An indication of this has been the increase in the number of domestic and foreign strategic alliances by six times during the period 1989-1999 (Nam-Hoon Kang, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2001). This change clearly indicates how companies from all over the world interact with each other and form partnerships in response to the phenomenon of globalization. The main drivers that have helped globalization to expand and deepen over the past years have been technological revolutions such as the widespread use of Internet and the ease of trans-boundary travelling, the creation of international institutions that encourage free trade by removing trade barriers, the establishment of multinational corporations which seek to increase their profits by taking advantage of what globalisation has to offer (Economics for business 5th edition John Sloman p. 498) and last but not least the change of governments’ policies towards deregulation and privatisation (Development in Practice Taylor & Francis p.524). This study aims to outline and examine these key drivers that made it possible for globalisation to evolve. The study will also focus on the magnitude of the drivers with relation to globalisation.
“Globalisation is both a result and a force of modernisation and capitalist expansion, entailing the integration of all economic activity (local, national, and