Abstract/Summary

This paper investigates the role of geographical and temporary proximity in the location and co-location decisions of new manufacturing activities by foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs). Empirical analysis confirms that foreign MNEs co-locate their new manufacturing plants with their plants already operating in the same activity, while geographical proximity exerts a much weaker role when the latter operate in other manufacturing and services activities. This is especially true in the case of knowledge intensive business services, where temporary proximity is more easily obtainable through the travelling and meeting of professionals. Moreover, a spatial econometric extension of our analysis confirms a geographical decay effect for intra-firm co-location with activities located in contiguous provinces.