Understanding Firms' Relocation and Expansion Decisions Using Self-Reported Factor Importance Rating

Using individual business surveys, this study examines the most important factors for firms' decisions to relocate or expand in the past as well as their intention to relocate or expand in the future. Results indicate that factors related to firms' internal characteristics, features of location sites, and the general economic environment may affect firms' past and future decisions. These factors are found to be generally consistent in their impact upon the past and future decisions with several noticeable differences. The hypothesis of footloose firms is supported by this study.