CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT/INFLUENCIAS CULTURAIS NO INVESTIMENTO DIRETO NO EXTERIOR

The current business competitive environment has influenced companies to cross national borders to explore foreign markets. The decision about in which country the company should invest isn't easy. Many factors can influence this decision, and culture is one of factors that international business scholars have incorporated in their researches. This article deals with the influence of cultural distances on Foreign Direct Investment, specifically it aims to examine whether cultural values affects bilateral Foreign Direct Investment, that is, Foreign Direct Investment Stock. Data that include bilateral Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure technique between 45 countries in 2007 were used, representing almost 95% of the Foreign Direct Investment Stock worldwide. The Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure technique was used. It was found that the similarities in Power Distance between two countries positively affects the Foreign Direct Investment stock between them (it means that companies prefer countries similar from their home country) and the presence of high Uncertainty Avoidance in one or in both countries of a dyad negatively affects the Foreign Direct Investment stock between them (it means that companies avoid countries that are different from their home country). Contributions: (1) uses an innovative approach Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure technique to analyze how individual cultural dimensions influence Foreign Direct Investment; (2) responds to the critique by Shenkar, by applying separate rather than aggregate cultural distance; (3) unveils how some cultural dimensions work in influencing FDI. Keywords Cultural Influences Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) National Cultures Cultural Distance Hofstede O atual ambiente competitivo de negocios tem influenciado empresas a cruzar fronteiras para explorar mercados externos. A decisao sobre em que pais a empresa deveria investir nao e facil. Muitos fatores pode influenciar esta decisao, e cultura e um destes fatores que pesquisadores de negocios internacionais tem incorporado em seus trabalhos. Este artigo lida com a influencia de distancias culturais no Investimento Direto no Exterior, especificamente tem como objetivo examinar se valores culturais afetam o Investimento Direto no Exterior Bilateral, ou seja, o Estoque de Investimento Direto no Exterior. Dados que incluem tecnica de Procedimento de Atribuicao Quadratica de Regressao Multipla bilateral entre 45 pai