Phelps, NA;
Wood, AM;
(2018)
The business of location: site selection consultants and the mobilisation of knowledge in the location decision.
Journal of Economic Geography
, 18
(5)
pp. 1023-1044.
10.1093/jeg/lbx016.
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Abstract
Consideration of the work of site selection consultants provides a window onto the frictions inherent in the location decision. In this paper, we draw upon interviews to interpret site selection consultants as intermediaries between a demand for locations emanating from MNEs and a supply of locations provided by national and subnational territories. We show how this intermediary role extends beyond the economizing on search costs and into the rarely appreciated market-creating and value adding opportunities offered by location. We also show how the knowledge mobilised by consultants is quintessentially geographical. Paradoxically, it is the geographical nature of the knowledge mobilised by site selection consultants that presents frictions to the professionalisation and globalisation of the industry despite its seminal role in promoting the mobility of economic activities. In conclusion, we explore elements of a future research agenda centred on the mediated nature of MNE location decisions.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | The business of location: site selection consultants and the mobilisation of knowledge in the location decision |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1093/jeg/lbx016 |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbx016 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
Keywords: | Multinational enterprise, information economics, the location decision, knowledge of place, site selection consultants |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1570997 |
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