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Whither corporate financialization? A literature review
Author(s) -
Klinge Tobias J.,
Fernandez Rodrigo,
Aalbers Manuel B.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geography compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.587
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 1749-8198
DOI - 10.1111/gec3.12588
Subject(s) - financialization , scope (computer science) , accounting , economics , empirical research , face (sociological concept) , business , economic geography , finance , sociology , social science , philosophy , epistemology , computer science , programming language
In this paper, we review the burgeoning literature on the study of corporate financialization, distinguishing three strands of empirical, quantitative studies: (1) national‐level and macro‐comparative analysis, (2) sector‐ and firm‐level analysis, and (3) econometric studies. We argue that corporations should be studied in their spatial organization. The spatial organization of the firm can be used to obscure corporate activity. Geography is not simply one of the many features of corporate structure but is key to it and therefore fundamental to shaping corporate financialization, although this is insufficiently expressed in accounting principles that provide consolidated accounts. Finally, we suggest four avenues for future studies: (1) to expand the geographical and temporal scope of research; (2) to pay close attention to how indicators are constructed; (3) to deconstruct large categories of analysis, such as ‘financial assets’; (4) to systematically include liabilities in the analysis of non‐financial corporations, especially in the face of the abundance of credit.