When World War II was over, the challenges were immense. Everywhere, there was damage that needed repair. Everywhere, exchange controls were in effect; currencies were inconvertible; trade restrictions were abundant. The problems facing the world community were formidable. Although around the world there remained many areas (especially rural ones) untouched by electrification, an awareness of electricity as essential now prevailed. Home and industrial uses of electricity already had expanded tremendously and were continuing to grow. People wanted far more than lightbulbs; they wanted an ever wider range of electrical goods, including washing machines, refrigerators, and eventually television sets. Usages of electricity soared. Industry required power sources. Air conditioning opened previously unimaginable opportunities. In the big projects of the new World Bank, providing electrical infrastructure came to be a top priority. Dams would be built and resources harnessed. And the world would be a better, more prosperous one as a consequence.

This chapter is titled “Summary of the Domestication Pattern to 1978,” for by the end of the Second World War domestication (the elimination of the participation of foreign multinational enterprises) was well under way. Nonetheless, multinational enterprises were still present in many countries. The process of exits of multinational enterprise accelerated in the years 1945–1978, with only rare entries of new participants in that period. However, the process was not smooth.