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Title: Bibliometric review on FDI attractiveness factors

Authors: Vanessa P.G. Bretas; Ilan Alon; Andrea Paltrinieri; Kavilash Chawla

Addresses: J.E. Cairnes School of Business & Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland ' School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Norway ' Department of Economics and Business Administration, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy ' Foresight Economics/Baton Global, 1 North Bridge Road, #06-29 High Street Centre, 179094 Singapore

Abstract: This article reviews the literature on foreign direct investment (FDI) attractiveness factors through bibliometric and content analyses. We analyse 499 articles between 1994 and 2021 extracted from the Web of Science database. Using Bibliometrix R-package and VOSviewer software, we combined co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence temporal analysis with a content analysis of the most cited articles. Five main research categories are revealed: structure for FDI, market conditions, entry conditions, institutional framework, and resources offer. We propose a conceptual framework of FDI attractiveness factors aligned with FDI motives. The article comprehensively reviews the key determinants using quantitative and qualitative approaches and provides future research directions.

Keywords: FDI; foreign direct investment; attractiveness factors; FDI determinants; bibliometric review.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2022.120721

European Journal of International Management, 2022 Vol.17 No.2/3, pp.469 - 499

Received: 21 Jul 2021
Accepted: 03 Nov 2021
Published online: 04 Feb 2022 *