Japanese investment location choice in the US: a home-country firm bandwagon effect

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship between home-country firm concentration and investment location decision, using data from a sample of Japanese subsidiaries established in the US between 2003 and 2017. Results show that when Japanese firms consider locating operations in the US, they give priority to states where other Japanese firms are already established, over any other firm- or location-specific determinants. Furthermore, industry concentration exerts a moderating effect on the co-national bandwagon effect under study, suggesting that the social network of established Japanese firms becomes a deciding factor in the absence of other attractive economic attributes.