"Globalization" is a broad term that describes the increased interconnectivity between different regions and countries across the globe. While different cultures had always shared ideas and economic products, the nineteenth century saw a rapid rise in globalization that has continued into the twenty first century thanks to improved transportation, communication, mass culture, and foreign investment.

The term “footloose firms” is applied to companies that do not exhibit a market orientation or a material orientation. A company with a material orientation locates its manufacturing centers close to the source of the raw materials because the composite parts cost more to ship than the finished product; therefore, it is cost effective to be as close as possible to the source. A company with a market orientation locates its manufacturing centers close to the most profitable markets because the composite parts cost less to ship than the finished product; therefore, it is cost effective to be as close as possible to the best possible markets. A “footloose firm” is a company whose raw resources and final products are so cheap and light that they do not need to worry about these considerations.

Over the last fifty years most large corporations have become multinational, or transnational, corporations. This means they conduct different areas of their business in different countries. For example a raw product might be harvested in central Africa, used to manufacture goods in China, and shipped around the world for sale. Multinational corporations often enjoy certain advantages and incentives provided by local governments, but this does not define them in the way that the correct answer does.

The Suez Canal was built through eastern Egypt in order to connect the Arabian Sea with the Mediterranean. This dramatically reduced the shipping cost and time required for trading between Europe and the Far East (particularly India). Previously ships had had to sail around the whole African continent, a costly and time-consuming endeavor. The Suez Canal came into British control in the 1870s and remained there until the 1950s when it came under the control of independent Egypt following the 1956 Suez Crisis.

“Maquiladoras” are export-processing cities that exist throughout Northern Mexico. In “Maquiladoras” American companies take advantage of the relatively cheap labor available in the region, as well as the proximity to the markets of the United States, to produce goods cheaper than they could in America. Such cities exist in so-called "Free Trade Zones."

“Maquiladoras” are export-processing cities that exist in northern Mexico, close to the border with the United States. They are major centers of industry for a wide variety of American companies who do their manufacturing in the region because it enables them to save a great deal of money. Of these options, only Ciudad Juárez could be considered a “maquiladoras.”

“Globalization” refers to the homogenizing impact on local culture and economics caused by increased interaction between geographically distinct regions. As a movement it has been going on for hundreds, if not thousands of years, but the movement has really accelerated since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Despite the massive impact of globalization in the twentieth century, its momentum was slowed by all of these answer choices, as they all divided the world into different ideological camps, preventing the exchange of products, culture, and ideas.