Logistics FDI in Italy: integration strategies and motivation

The internationalisation of the logistics industry has massively increased in the last three decades. Depending on the motivations behind foreign direct investments (FDI), a multinational enterprise (MNE) may invest in a country through horizontal, vertical and conglomerate integrations. The integration strategies are a relatively unexplored area in logistics research. The aim of the paper is to fill this gap in the literature by investigating the integration strategies undertaken by foreign logistics MNE in Italy, analysing the motivations behind them and their characteristics in terms of sub-industries and investments’ areas of origin and destination.