Abstract
State-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs) have had a persistent and increasing role in the global economy. Today, many SOMNCs are listed in stock markets, are monitored by private investors, and in several cases have minority instead of majority stakes held by domestic governments. In this chapter, we outline an agency-based theory of SOMNCs, identifying benefits and costs that arise from government ownership and sponsorship. We discuss how SOMNCs may suffer from principal-agent problems arising from conflicts between managers and governments as well as principal-principal conflicts between state and private actors investing in those firms. We then identify several research challenges and avenues that scholars can pursue when studying SOMNCs.