Multinational companies are used to pondering whether to shift their headquarters from one country to another. Rarely do they worry about the country itself shifting allegiance. So, international companies based in Scotland – including blue-chips such as Standard Life, the insurer, and Cairn Energy, the oil and gas group – received a shock last week when the Scottish National party won a majority in the country’s parliament and promised a referendum on independence from England within five years.

Big Scottish companies’ reactions ranged from silent to mealy-mouthed. That was understandable. The end of the 300-year union with England may never happen. If it does, the Scottish government may sweeten it for nervous companies with tax breaks. Either way, declaring a preference now would be bad business.

In an acute form, however, the Scottish vote highlighted a question that leaders of big businesses must address: is it important which flag our company flies – and if so, why? “In industry, nationality really doesn’t matter,” says Royal Dutch Shell’s Peter Voser. He is a Swiss running an Anglo-Dutch multinational under the chairmanship of a Finn, Jorma Ollila, so his response reflects the reality for Shell. But Mr Voser adds a nuance: “Having an Anglo-Dutch heritage is quite helpful. It gives us a different status around the world. We’re not just one nationality – so we’re not seen to be American, for instance – and [it helps us] come across as a company that’s quite globalised.”