The transnational corporate elite network Nature and properties

Increasing wealth inequality levels, a declined trust in established elites, and the rise of populist leaders after the 2008 financial crisis sparked the interest of social scientists in the nature of elites and upper classes. In line with these social transformations, the present dissertation focuses on corporate elites—the key elite group that significantly contributed to and benefited from economic globalization. This study explores how corporate elites structure their national and international networks, using social network analysis as the main methodological framework and the theory of the transnational capitalist class as a key theoretical backdrop. The chapters of this dissertation deliver three key findings. First, this study shows that the transnational corporate elite network remains fragmented. Second, the dissertation reveals that elite formation and reproduction of the members of the transnational corporate elite follow similar patterns as within nation-states. Third, the findings of this dissertation suggest that practice adaptation is taking place among different fractions of the transnational corporate elite network. Together, the chapters of this manuscript show that the nature of the transnational corporate elite network is significantly determined by the properties of national elite networks. The results of this study shed light on the influence and power of elites and corporations in modern societies.