Strategic Evolution within Japanese Manufacturing Plants in Europe: UK Evidence (1994)

Although still relatively small, Japanese manufacturing investment in the EC has been growing very rapidly [since the mid-1980s]. It has been largely import-substituting investment, oriented towards Europe as a whole rather than to any particular national market. For both these sets of reasons it has been geared towards gaining the benefits of, and avoiding the potential barriers associated with, European economic integration. In terms of geographical location, the UK has historically dominated as a preferred entry point for Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing, with Germany a close second. The background to this has been extensively examined in the literature (Dunning, 1986; Oliver and Wilkinson, 1988; Hood and Truijens, 1993).