The factors which motivate Western MNEs to engage in FDI in Turkey by means of both wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures are investigated for a sample of 98 firms. The highest ranked motives for FDI in Turkey are principally concerned with gaining a presence in new markets and enabling faster market entry. A parsimonious set of motives for the sample studied is provided by means of factor analysis. Hypotheses are tested on the relationship between the relative importance of motives and a number of characteristics of the sample. The relative importance of the motives is found not to vary with ownership pattern (wholly-owned subsidiary or joint venture), to vary to a moderate extent with the country of origin of the investment and the mode of entry (acquisition or greenfield), and to vary most with size of the investment and industry of the investment.
