The impact of declining regional economic integration on the organization of multinational corporations - Focusing on European regional headquarters -

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K01829
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 07080:Business administration-related
• Research Institution: Hirosaki University
• Principal Investigator: Mori Tatsuo 弘前大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (80250588)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 地域統括本社 / Brexit / 英国のEU離脱 / 多国籍企業の組織

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this research is to explore how the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (so-called Brexit) in 2020 affected the European regional headquarters of Japanese multinational companies. To achieve this objective, we conducted database analysis and conducted interview surveys in the UK and the Netherlands, and considered the impact of Brexit.
As a result of the research, it was initially thought that the impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on the regional headquarters of Japanese multinational companies would be significant (for example, the relocation of regional headquarters to continental Europe). However, it has been found that the impact has not been as large as expected, and that many companies continue to have their regional headquarters located in the UK.

Free Research Field

国際経営論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

英国のEU離脱による日系多国籍企業の地域統括本社への影響は，当初は大きなものがあるのでは（例えば大陸側への地域統括本社の移転など）と関心が高まっていたが，想定していたほどの影響はなく，依然として地域統括本社を英国に置くケースが多いことが分かった。このことから，欧州単一市場に対応するためにEU内に拠点を設ける必要があるとの考え方は，欧州単一市場が設立された当初は必要な対応だったものの，現時点では，EU外に地域統括本社を置いていても，欧州におけるビジネスへの影響はみられないということが明らかになった。本研究は，この点において学術的な意義を見出すことができる。