Promoting the global economy: The uneven development of the location consulting industry

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the location consulting industry as a set of intermediaries that promote globalization when brokering between a demand for suitable sites for direct investment projects emanating from multinational enterprises and the supply of locations produced by host country governments. We outline three themes composing a research agenda: the nature of the knowledge mobilized by these intermediaries and its implications for the organization of the industry; the role of intermediaries as a neglected aspect of coupling within global production networks, and; the globally uneven contribution of intermediaries in different national political economies. We illustrate these themes em..