Venturing abroad - the MNE's viewpoint

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to identify the key factors that influenced multinational enterprises (MNEs) in locating their business in Singapore, the major reasons on why Singaporeans are not venturing overseas as perceived by ·MNE managers and to generate a set of recommendations which will help in strategic decision making in this area. For this study, data was collected from a sample of MNE managers representing companies from various industrial sectors in Singapore. A questionnaire was designed and administered through local mail system. Analyses of the collected data were conducted using appropriate statistical tools in order to respond to the three research questions of the study. A list of ten facilitating factors and six constraining factors that were responsible for MNEs investment decision in Singapore were identified through the analyses of the findings. In addition, a set of key reasons as to why Singaporeans are not venturing overseas has also been identified based on the perceptions of MNE managers in Singapore. Implications of the findings are also drawn and a set of recommendations· are presented based on the findings of the study.