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A Red Carpet Welcome - Investment Promotion as a Tool to Attract FDI to European Regions

Fiolka, Teresa A. (2015) A Red Carpet Welcome - Investment Promotion as a Tool to Attract FDI to European Regions.

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Abstract:Plant or office location decisions of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are largely driven by a combination of economic, infrastructure, host-country policy, and `soft' factor considerations. However, in the past decades European countries and regions have spend increasing amounts of money and employed a large number of staff to encourage FDI into their area through investment promotion measures. While a considerable amount of research into the internationalisation decision of companies and the location determinants of FDI exists, studies in the field of investment promotion techniques applied, especially at the regional level, are scarce. This thesis deals with the marketing techniques and strategies used by investment promotion practitioners at the regional and local level and explores factors contributing to effective communication with foreign investors. Existing theoretical frameworks of investment promotion, place marketing and MNEs' plant location choice are scrutinized and modeled into a frame of reference for regional stakeholders' practice of approaching and communicating with (potential) investors. Subsequently, in-depth interviews with investment promotion practitioners from two European regions are used to gain an insight into crucial success factors in establishing contact with, responding to information inquiries from and handling conversation with MNEs interesting in locating in the region. Techniques were found to vary according to the phase of the project. Additionally, seven factors, concerning the project facilitation stage, were identified as essential determinants of successful FDI attraction.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:70 social sciences in general, 74 (human) geography, cartography, town and country planning, demography, 83 economics, 85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:European Studies MSc (69303)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/67033
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