The business of location: site selection consultants and the mobilisation of knowledge in the location decision
研究了选址顾问作为中介在跨国公司选址决策中的作用，揭示其不仅降低搜索成本，还创造市场和增加价值，并指出其动员的地理知识对行业专业化和全球化的阻碍。
Consideration of the work of site selection consultants provides a window onto the frictions inherent in the location decision. In this paper, we draw upon interviews to interpret site selection consultants as intermediaries between a demand for locations emanating from MNEs and a supply of locations provided by national and subnational territories. We show how this intermediary role extends beyond the economizing on search costs and into the rarely appreciated market-creating and value adding opportunities offered by location. We also show how the knowledge mobilised by consultants is quintessentially geographical. Paradoxically, it is the geographical nature of the knowledge mobilised by site selection consultants that presents frictions to the professionalisation and globalisation of the industry despite its seminal role in promoting the mobility of economic activities. In conclusion, we explore elements of a future research agenda centred on the mediated nature of MNE location decisions.