Transborder Data Flows Usage by U.S. Subsidiaries in Mexico and Hispanic South America: A Preliminary Regional Study

Transborder data flows (TDF) have been shown to be vital to multinational corporations (MNCs) in managing the complex information flows required for control and implementation of worldwide strategy. Research on TDF has generally been on a global scale and from a headquarters perspective. This preliminary study takes a new direction by reporting results of a survey of TDF activity on a regional rather than a global level of analysis and from the viewpoint of U.S. MNC subsidiaries overseas rather than from a headquarter's driven analysis. In addition to a breakdown by manufacturing and service industries usage of TDF by functional area within the region is reported along with the climate of governmental regulation for TDF in the emerging economies of Mexico and Hispanic South America.The study addresses the hypothesis that TDF trends for MNCs on a regional level mirror those of a headquarters or global perspective. The study concludes that there is no significant difference between the nine Latin American nations in terms of TDF vitality, functional activity and regulatory climate. A major implication of the research note is that preliminary results from the Latin American region tend to parallel global and headquarters-related studies in corporate TDF.