A Comparative Analysis of FDI in the Western Balkans: The Role of Geo-Cultural Proximity

(Session Chair) Session synopsis:Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) represents ownership in a business by an investor from another country for which the foreign investor has control over the company purchased, defined as owning 10% or more of the business (OECD 2008). This session examines comparatively the locational aspects of FDI in the Balkan states and regions of the former Yugoslavia: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Each paper presentation will feature one of these geographic entities, paying particular attention to the role of cities in attracting FDI.The purpose of this session is to advance scholarly knowledge about the location of FDI in the Western Balkan region 25 years after the dissolution of Yugoslavia. FDI in the region has been researched by many scholars, but little systematic research from a spatial perspective has been published comparing the successor states to one another. Moreover, scholarly research in the English language is limited to an assortment of country-specific studies that rely upon a variety of empirical approaches. Further justifying this discussion, John Dunning (2009) famously refers to location as “a neglected factor” in international business scholarship. The papers in this session therefore address FDI broadly guided by Dunning’s framework.