Poland’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment

Foreword 7

Chapter 1. The internationalisation of enterprises: an overview of studies .. 15
1.1. Introduction 15
1.2. Internationalisation in theories of international trade 19
1.3. Theories of Foreign Direct Investment 23
1.4. Sequential internationalisation theories 28
1.5. Theories of unconventional internationalisation 35
1.6. Network approach 41
1.7. Conclusions 46
Chapter 2. Should we support Poland’s Outward FDI? 49
2.1. Introduction 49
2.2. The effects of Outward FDI for the investing country: a theoretical perspective 54
2.3. The effects of Outward FDI for the investing country: an empirical perspective 57
2.4. Institutional framework for supporting Poland’s Outward FDI 62
2.5. Support instruments for Poland’s Outward FDI 65
2.6. Conclusions 70
Chapter 3. Foreign Direct Investments of Polish enterprises 77
3.1. Introduction 77
3.2. Poland’s Outward FDI – scale and structure 80
3.3. Directions of Poland’s Outward FDI 97
3.4. Conclusions 105
Chapter 4. Foreign Direct Investments of firms from the Lodz Region 107
4.1. Introduction 107
4.2. Enterprises from the Lodz voivodeship – the scale of international involvement 107
4.3. Activities of foreign affiliates of companies from the Lodz voivodeship 116
4.4. Enterprises from the Lodz voivodeship: investment directions 120
4.5. Conclusions 125
Chapter 5. Active internationalisation of enterprises from the Lodz voivodeship. Study results 127
5.1. Introduction 127
5.2. Characteristics of the enterprises included in the study 128
5.3. Domestic competitiveness of enterprises before they started to internationalise 134
5.4. Scale and type of involvement in foreign markets 136
5.5. Organisational and geographical structure of foreign investment 139
5.5.1. Representative offices 139
5.5.2. Subsidiaries and branches 141
5.5.3. Joint-ventures with partners from the host country 142
5.6. The internationalisation of enterprises: characteristics 144
5.6.1. Area of business and firm’s competitive position in the host country 144
5.6.2. Exports to the host country 148
5.7. Internationalisation: degree, paths and initiators 149
5.8. Motivation behind foreign expansion 154
5.8.1. Market seeking motives 154
5.8.2. Efficiency seeking 156
5.8.3. Administrative and legal reasons 158
5.8.4. Resource seeking motivation 160
5.8.5. Risk related motivation 162
5.8.6. Intangible resources in building a competitive advantage in the host country 164
5.8.7. Factors restricting foreign direct investment and activities in the host country 166
5.8.8. Expectations vis-a-vis foreign investments 170
5.8.9. Impact of foreign affiliates upon enterprise operations in Poland 173
5.9. Conclusions 178

References 181
Annex – questionnaire 197
List of tables and figures 211