OPERATIONS PERFORMED BY BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THE PROCESS OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT ACQUISITION: A CASE STUDY OF INVESTOR SERVICE CENTRES

The quality of institutions is important for economic growth and inflow of foreign direct investment. Business environment institutions may introduce certain adaptations of the conditions as a response to foreign investors’ expectations. The main objective of the research was to evaluate business environment institutions, exemplified herein by Investor Service Centres, in terms of their active participation in the process of attracting foreign investors. The empirical investigation (using questionnaire forms, carried out in the first half of 2013) was completed by employees of 10 centres (62.5%). COI employees use most of the available sources of information about foreign investors. COIs are very active in their information search, and do not resort to the simplest possibilities, for example the Internet. Foreign investors contacted offices having previously found relevant information about chosen investment locations. COIs actively cooperate with other institutions in order to attract foreign investors. They undertake various activities to reach this aim, most of which demand a high degree of engagement. Most often COI employees promoted available investment sites themselves rather than delegate this task to agencies. In order to improve the efficiency of COIs, they should strive towards building relationships between institutions.