Embedding the Multinationals? Institutions and the Development of Overseas Manufacturing Affiliates in Wales and North East England

PHELPS N. A., MACKINNON D., STONE I. and BRAIDFORD P. (2003) Embedding the multinationals? Institutions and the development of overseas manufacturing affiliates in Wales and North East England, Reg. Studies 37 , 27-40. The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) upon host regions is a topic of perennial interest within the fields of regional economics, industrial geography and regional development. Much of the early literature here draws negative conclusions regarding the wider indirect impacts of FDI on host regions, pointing to the branch plant syndrome. In light of significant processes of corporate restructuring and the build-up of host region institutional capacities, however, recent literature has claimed that the plants of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are becoming increasingly "embedded' in regional economies. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to provide a critical assessment of the regional "embeddedness' of FDI in Wales and the North East of England. Based upon an extensive survey of overseas-owned manufacturing affiliates in these regions, the paper examines key indicators of MNE embeddedness, and assesses the influence of regional agencies on the embedding process. In general, we find little evidence of increasing embeddedness while the effects of regional differences in institutional capacity on the embedding process appear to be somewhat limited. As such, we suggest that the idea of " extended enclaves' encapsulates some key dimensions of the relationships between MNEs and the economies of peripheral UK regions. PHELPS N. A., MACKINNON D., STONE I. et BRAIDFORD P. (2003) Ancrer les multinationales?: les institutions et le développement des filiales industrielles étrangères au pays de Galles et dans le nord-est d'Angleterre, Reg. Studies 37 , 27-40. Les retombées de l'investissement direct étranger (IDE) sur les zones d'accueil est un sujet d'inté rêt perpétuel dans les domaines de l'économie ré gionale, de la géographie industrielle et de l'aménagement du territoire. Dans une large mesure, la première documentation à ce sujet tire des conclusions négatives quant aux retombées indirectes importantes de l'IDE sur les zones d'accueil, faisant allusion au syndrome des établissements. Cependant, à la lumière de la restructuration d'entreprise et du développement des capacités institutionnelles de la zone d'accueil, la documentation récente affirme que les établissements des multinationales deviennent de plus en plus " ancrées' dans des é