Multinational Enterprises and the Globalization of Medicine: Siemens and the Business of X-ray Equipment in Non-Western Markets, 1900–1939
本文研究西门子公司在20世纪上半叶向非西方市场出口X射线设备的过程，发现其依赖少数城市医院市场，难以扩展到私人医生和内陆地区，原因是直接套用了欧洲的高价高质量策略，忽视了当地医疗体系的差异。
Whereas the globalization of medicine since the middle of the 19th century has primarily been approached as the sociopolitical and cultural outcome of imperialism, this article argues that Western big business also played a major role through the worldwide export of standardized medical technologies. It focuses on the expansion of Siemens on the X-ray equipment market in non-Western countries during the first half of the twentieth century. This German multinational enterprise experienced slight growth from the mid-1920s onwards but relied mainly on two markets (Argentina and Brazil). It specialized in providing large-scale equipment to a few urban hospitals and engaged during the 1930s in large-scale hospital development together with local authorities and international organizations in various countries (China, Peru, and Central Africa). However, Siemens had great difficulty in expanding its business to include private doctors and inland outlets, where it faced intense competition from other Western X-ray producers. This paper emphasizes that this shortcoming stemmed from a direct application of the European strategy (high-quality, expensive equipment for hospitals) to non-Western markets, where health systems differed.