Optimising the Global Value Chain: An Analysis of the Automobile Industry

This article analyses location strategies pursued by multinational corporations. The authors examine different conceptual frameworks proposed in the literature, in order to identify major determinants of location choice. The analysis focuses on production and R&D activities, which play a strategic role in the global value chain of compa-nies. The field chosen for empirical investigation is the automobile industry, in which the spatial dimension plays a particularly important role. In a context in which markets and competition are globalised, car manufacturers need to optimise the location of their activities in order to remain competitive. The arguments presented show that most manufacturers concentrate a large part of their production and R&D activities in their country of origin or home region. However, the relative importance of production and R&D facilities based abroad is constantly growing, especially in emerging markets, which can be considered as particularly attractive territories for multinational corporations. In a context in which the attractiveness of cities, regions or countries seems to be in a state of constant change, the present study enhances our understanding of location choices made by multinational corporations.