Sequential Foreign Investments, Regional Technology Platforms and the Evolution of Japanese Multinationals in East Asia

IVABSTRACTIn this paper, we investigate the firm-level mechanisms that underlie the sequential foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions of multinational corporations (MNCs). To understand inter-firm heterogeneity in the sequential FDI behaviors of MNCs, we develop a firm capability-based model of sequential FDI decisions. In the setting of Japanese electronics MNCs in East Asia, we empirically examine how prior investments in firm capabilities affect sequential investments into existingproduction bases in response to major environmental changes. In our empirical investigation, which isbased on descriptive statistical analysis, panel data regression analysis, and field studies, we find supporting evidence for our main argument that sequential FDIs are firm-specific, evolutionary processes in which prior investments in firm capabilities influence future sequential FDI behaviors.