Location advantages and repeat investment in Australia: A two-state comparison

Repeat investment is increasingly important for governments seeking to retain and embed existing foreign subsidiaries within their domains. Identifying the location advantages that predict the repeat investment behaviour of foreign subsidiaries although important has not been studied in any systematic manner. Using a sample of 356 foreign subsidiaries operating in Australia, a multiple regression model is used to test the relationship between the location advantages and repeat investment across both national (Australia) and regional (New South Wales and Victoria) spatial domains. The different location advantages found to be predictive of repeat investment suggest that reliance in the literature on location being synonymous with the national domain is inadequate. The findings highlight the need for domain-specific policy responses if governments are to encourage repeat investment at the regional level.