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Seeking Opportunities: International Market Selection by E uropean Engineering Consultancies
Author(s) -
Pflanz Kai
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/tesg.12036
Subject(s) - internationalization , selection (genetic algorithm) , international market , service (business) , marketing , economic geography , business , industrial organization , regional science , economics , geography , international trade , computer science , artificial intelligence
Over the last few decades professional service firms have increasingly expanded their activities beyond national borders and established international offices throughout the world. This paper describes and analyses spatial patterns of internationalisation within the engineering consulting sector. By mapping expansion biographies of E uropean engineering consulting firms and conducting dynamic C ox regression models, external factors influencing international market selection are examined. It is shown that current spatial patterns are only partly shaped by the declining importance of cross‐national distance. Instead, market seeking motivations and the exploitation of time‐critical opportunities appear to be of more significance. Further, changing patterns of market selection are observed.