Do investment incentives matter in multinational enterprises location choices? The case of the Lodz Province
Do investment incentives matter in multinational enterprises location choices? The case of the Lodz Province

Summary/Abstract: Background: Theoretically, any country or region in the world whose political and economic situation is stable and predictable can become a potential optimal investment location for multinational enterprises (MNEs). Nevertheless, some locations are doing better than others. In trying to explain why that is the case, the author has taken a closer look at investment incentives viewed as factors that may have an impact on the attractiveness of business locations. MNEs are seeking to find sites in other countries where they could successfully develop their business projects and are looking closely at economic viability of their undertakings. On the other hand, national and local governments in different countries across the world deploy diverse incentives financed from public coffers to attract foreign investors. Supporting foreign direct investment (FDI) through targeted incentive schemes is a subject that for some time has been thoroughly debated by economists and the international business community. Research purpose: National, regional, and local authorities together with business environment institutions have a significant role in attracting (and retaining) foreign investors. They are equipped with economic policy instruments which, if used properly, may become incentives to MNEs looking for favourable business locations. The hereto discussed study aims to assess the role the host country measures play in location decisions of companies with foreign capital. Methods: It is based on the results of a questionnaire-based survey conducted by the author in Poland. The study was carried out using the quantitative PAPI (Pen And Paper Personal Interview) method while responses provided by MNEs managers were examined by calculating their distributions as well as other statistical measures.Conclusions: The wide array of investment incentives offered to foreign investors can be divided into several ‘thematic’ groups of diverse significance. In the below discussed study, most respondents – managers of MNEs which invested in Poland – declared that the availability of State aid schemes was not the main driver in their location decisions which were motivated primarily by cost-related factors. Available surveys that investigate the situation across the world (also in Poland) do not provide sufficient evidence to make a clear-cut assessment of the efficiency.

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