摘要：The strategic responses of four Canadian multinational enterprises (MNEs) to the Canada-U.5. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) are used here to examine Canadian corporate competitiveness. The predicted responses of the firms to the FTA were gathered using an analytical framework that assesses the diverging strategic needs of the firms. These predictions are then confirmed by data gathered through interviews with and questionnaire surveys of key firm personnel. The impact of trade liberalization on the strategies of business firms has been the subject of a growing body of literature. The main contribution of Dunning and Robson (1987), a recent overview, is its analysis of the interrelationships between regional economic integration and the international expansion strategies of MNEs. Most of the managerially oriented Iiterature on this topic is related to one of three issues: (1) the impact of free trade on the competitive position of firms vis-à-vis international rivaIs (see Magun, Rao, and Lodh 1987; Magun et al. 1988); (2) the effects of trade liberalization on the choice of entry mode to serve foreign markets, especially the choice between exports and foreign direct investment (FDD and the degree of complementarity of entry modes (see, for example, Rugman 1990); and (3) the impact of the changed trading environment on the internaI restructuring of MNEs, especially the transformation of subsidiaries from "miniature replicas" into globally rationalized business operations or "domestic" firms with world product mandates (see, for example, Hood and Young 1987). In each case, the regional economic implication of the restructuring process involves a shift from a Canadian national focus toward a global focus.
