Hewitt-Dundas N., Andreosso-O'Callaghan B., Crone M., Murray J. and Roper S. (2005) Selling global, buying local? What determines the sourcing patterns of multinational plants in Ireland?, Regional Studies 39 , 225-239. Multinational enterprises (MNEs) have played an important, if not crucial,...

Knowledge and local learning are central to current debates about regional economic development. Using data provided by multinational plants, this paper provides new evidence on the geography of knowledge, emphasizing the proximity of Northern Ireland-based multinational plants to global best...

New empirical evidence on local sourcing by multinational enterprise plants in two UK regions (Yorkshire and The Humber and Northern Ireland) is presented and compared with evidence from other UK regions. The proportion of material inputs sourced locally is generally quite low in both regions...

An examination of the factors influencing the extent of regional sourcing by multinational manufacturing firms using data collected by interview from 50 foreign- and UK-owned plants in Yorkshire and Humberside. The evidence shows that higher levels of regional sourcing are observed where certain...

Job creation and destruction estimates are made for Northern Ireland manufacturing using the ARD database. International comparisons suggest job creation and destruction rates in Northern Ireland were below those elsewhere. Job turnover rates exhibit the standard properties, however, with...

There is now general agreement that inter-firm cooperation through networks, partnerships and supply-chains can, by facilitating knowledge exchange and reducing transaction costs, contribute both to innovation and company competitiveness. Dense patterns of ‘association’, reinforced by links...

The evaluation of the impact of public policies to improve the performance of the small business sector has provoked a great deal of debate and research activity in recent years. The debate can be categorised in two broad ways. First, it can be seen in terms of the actual impact measures and...