The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights into the motivations and location patterns of Korean companies in the early stages of foreign direct investment in the European Union during the 1980s and early 1990s. Hypotheses drawing on a wide ...
The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights into the motivations and location patterns of Korean companies in the early stages of foreign direct investment in the European Union during the 1980s and early 1990s. Hypotheses drawing on a wide rage of FDI theories are tested using a case study methodology involving field research at both headquarters and subsidiary levels in three major Korean electronics companies: Samsung, LG (Goldstar) and Daewoo. While there is broad support for the explanations hypothesized, Korean FDI has some unique features which contradict traditional theories and which provide some new perspective on foreign investment behaviour by Asian MNEs.