Economists are not in agreement as to how multinational or transnational corporations should be defined. Multinational corporations have many dimensions and can be viewed from several perspectives (ownership, management, strategy and structural, etc.).
Some argue that ownership is a key criterion. A firm becomes multinational only when the head quarter or parent company is effectively owned by nationals of two or more countries.
An international company is multinational if the managers of the parent company are nationals of several countries. Usually, managers of the headquarters are nationals of the home country. This may be a transitional phenomenon.