Leaving firms’ foreign direct investment decisions to so-called market forces and believing that governments should not be marketing their jurisdictions or otherwise trying to influence investment decisions is dangerously naïve. This is a core finding by the Ivey Business School’s Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management’s “Attracting Global Mandates Project”. Within global firms, there is a battle being waged — both with competitors in other firms, and within firms among regional divisions and across product lines — for investment capital and senior management attention. The winners secure mandates to serve not just local markets but global ones as well.
Related to this story
Paul Boothe and Jean-Louis Schaan examine the experience of four global firms with Canadian operations: General Electric, IBM, Siemens and Toyota. Using Ivey’s trademark Case Method Boothe and Schaan’s paper “Core Manufacturing: Lessons from Four Global Giants in Canada” sought to understand the process they use to allocate mandates globally and the strategy the Canadian senior management employs in such internal competitions.
“Canadian executives worked hard to socialize the proposal at all levels, up to and including HQ,” said Paul Boothe and Jean-Louis Schaan, Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management. “A common element was the involvement of governments as committed partners. While competitive financial support was important, it played a role relatively late in the process.”
The case studies demonstrated five common themes of successful foreign direct investment proposals. Firstly, proposals were led by the Canadian CEO of the global firm, all aligned with the overall corporate direction of the firm, all had successful past implementations, a compelling and sound business case and governments acted as a committed, sustained and visible partner.
Links to papers in the Attracting Global Mandates series:
- Attracting Global Mandates: Summary and Recommendations by Paul Boothe
- FDI by the Numbers by David Moloney and Sandra Octaviani
- Core Manufacturing: Lessons from Four Global Giants in Canada by Paul Boothe and Jean-Louis Schaan
Media Contact:
Ivan Langrish, Senior Manager, Media Strategy
Ivey Business School, Western University
ilangrish@ivey.ca
416-203-0664
About the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management
The Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management bridges business strategy and government policy to contribute to Canada’s global competitiveness. The Centre educates future business leaders in public policy and government leaders in business strategy and conducts leading-edge research on major issues that involve business-government coordination. www.ivey.uwo.ca/lawrencecentre
About the Ivey Business School, Western University
The Ivey Business School (www.ivey.ca) at Western University is Canada’s leading provider of relevant, innovative and comprehensive business education. Drawing on extensive research and business experience, Ivey faculty provide the best classroom experience, equipping graduates with the skills and capabilities they need to tackle the leadership challenges in today’s complex business world. Ivey offers world-renowned undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as Executive Education at campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto and Hong Kong.
Related Articles
