European Locational Decisions of Japanese Manufacturers: Survey Evidence on the Case of the UK (1993)

Abstract

Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe has attracted much attention from competitors, consumers, academics and governments, especially over the past decade. This attention has been particularly focused on manufacturing investment, not only because of its relationship to competition and trade policy, but also due to the intense efforts which have been directed towards the attraction of that investment to relatively disadvantaged regions within the EC with a view to employment creation and industrial regeneration. Moreover, the distribution of this investment has been concentrated in a limited number of countries, the UK and Germany playing dominant roles in terms of project numbers and investment, with the UK being substantially ahead as regards employment. For a variety of reasons related to both competitive and anticompetitive issues and economic nationalism, almost every one of the major investment decisions has been the subject of some controversy.

International Business Review, 2 (1) (1993), 39–63.