Business Method

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Group

Essex Business School

University of Essex

Autumn Term, 2011-2012

BE231 Business Research Methods

Student Name: Zhenhua Chen

Student Number: 1004371

Content

1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………3

1.1 Importance of the research……………………………………………………...3

1.2 Purpose of the research …………………………………………………………3

1.3 Hypothesis………………………………………………………………………..4

1.4 Research questions………………………………………………………………4

1.5 Structure of proposal……………………………………………………………5

2.0 Literature ………………………………………………………………………..5

3.0 Research plan……………………………………………………………………7

3.1 The aim of the research…………………………………………………………7

3.2 The stage of the research and objective…………………………......................8

4.0 Methodology…………………………………………………………………......9

4.1 Sample companies ……………………………………………...........................9

4.2 The types of data collected……………………………………………………..9

4.3 Data collecting methods……………………………………………………….11

5.0 Output and Dissemination………………………………………………….....11

5.1 Output………………………………………………………………………….11

5.2 Dissemination………………………………………………………………….12

6.0 Reference……………………………………………………………………...13

1.0 Brief introduction of the research

In this new era, where companies are experiencing great environmental

challenges and shifts due to the globalization of world markets and production.

According to Aleson & Escuer (2001) and Dunning & Lundan (2008), there

are many companies diversifying the graphic scope of their businesses

operations in order to gain the competitive advantage. There have two

different types of geographical diversification. One is generally referred to as

regional diversification that the companies establish subsidiary companies to

different part of their own nation. Another one is called country diversification

that the firms create branches into other nations. In the choice of geographical

area, firms need to go through careful measurement and advisement, thereby

the location strategy have been a crucial relevance and importance of the

relationship between geographic and company performance. According to the

previous researches and studies, this research proposal aims to make a study

on the relationship among location strategy, geographical diversification and

corporation performance.

1.1 Importance of the research

This research tries to analyze the role of the location strategy in the

relationship between the geographical diversification and corporation

performance. The location strategy is one of most significant decision for

regional diversification entrepreneurs and multinational entrepreneurs. There

are many scholars (Teece, 1982; Thomas & Eden, 2004) indicate that along

with trend of the globalization of the economic and the industrial division, the

right location is a main part in a company’s success. If a firm chooses make a

wrong location strategy decision, it may have insufficient access to employees,

raw materials, customers, transportation, and so on. Consequently, location

strategy always plays an outstanding role in a firm’s profit and overall

performance. Annavarjula and Beldona (2000) found that the parent company whether to set up a branch in a particular region base on a location strategy,

which is a project for achieving the optimal geographic for a firm by identifying

firm goals and needs, and searching for geographies with providing that are

compatible with these goals and requirements. Generally, this means the

location strategy will seriously influence the relationship between the

geographical diversification and corporation performance. So understanding

and awareness of the relationship between them will greatly improve and

enhance the companies’ performance and achievement.

1.2 Purpose of the research

This research will give undivided attention to make a clear understanding and

knowledge of the linkage of the company’s location strategy to geographic

diversity and corporation performance. The companies covered in this

research will select 50 American headquartered manufacturing enterprises.

These 50 firms select from the assessment of the Financial Times in 2011

about the global top 500 firms and all of these firms meet our requirements of

this research. Through research these sample companies, we could get some

useful primary data that are likely to figure out the role of the location strategy

in the relationship between geographic diversity and company performance.

1.3 The questions of research

In order to more fully know and comprehend the relationship among the

location strategy, geographical diversification and company performance, this

research will give birth to a series of questions involving this relationship.