Title: Location choices at the subnational level perspective: the case of the Volkswagen Group in BRIC countries

Authors: Lu Fu; Mário Henrique Ogasavara; José Milton De Sousa-Filho

Addresses: Master Program in Strategic and International Management, Deggendorf Institute of Technology, Edlmairstraße 6, 94469 Deggendorf, Germany ' Graduate Program in International Management, ESPM, Rua Dr. Álvaro Alvim, 123 – Bloco C, Sala 402, CEP 04018-010, São Paulo, SP, Brazil ' Graduate Program in Business Administration, University of Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321, Sala P-17, CEP 60.811-905, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil

Abstract: This study analyses the location choices of the Volkswagen Group (VWG) in BRIC countries built on entry and subsequent investments. Based on the internationalisation theories of the Uppsala model and the Eclectic Paradigm, this study performs a qualitative analysis applying a case study approach. We collected data from archival sources including corporate documents and official reports. The results revealed a partial support for the Uppsala model, while the Eclectic paradigm combined with an institution-based view explain VWG's location choices. Most importantly, the findings demonstrate that when examining a firm's entry and subsequent investment into international markets, institutional aspects must be explored in depth not only at the country level, but especially from a subnational level perspective, since the operation in fact occurs in this specific location.

Keywords: location choice; automobile industry; entry mode; subsequent investment; internationalisation; geographic diversification; plant location; emerging markets; Brazil; Russia; India; China.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCM.2018.091496

International Journal of Comparative Management, 2018 Vol.1 No.1, pp.106 - 126

Received: 04 Aug 2017
Accepted: 28 Oct 2017
Published online: 02 May 2018 *

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