Macro Intentions, Micro Realities

23 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2003

See all articles by Alan Muller

Alan Muller

University of Amsterdam Business School; University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business

Rob van Tulder

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM)

Date Written: December 2001

Abstract

The current understanding of Regional Integration is largely macro-economic and political in orientation and has tended to neglect, even ex post, the significance of the Single European Market (SEM) for the spatial restructuring of individual firms. The problem stems largely from a lopsided understanding of Regional Integration. This paper introduces a two-level approach in which integration and its outcomes are studied based on the strategic intent and strategic realities of two types of key actors: governments and core companies. In this contribution it is argued that in advocating the SEM, these actors did not necessarily share the same strategic intent. A new firm-level data set shows also that the expectations of European policymakers did not accurately match actual strategies developed by European core companies.

Keywords: Regional Integration, core companies, spatial organization of activities, strategic intent/reality

JEL Classification: L2, L5, L22, M, M10

Suggested Citation

Muller, Alan R. and van Tulder, Rob J.M., Macro Intentions, Micro Realities (December 2001). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=370929

Alan R. Muller (Contact Author)

University of Amsterdam Business School ( email )

Plantage Muidergracht 12
Amsterdam, 1018TV
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www1.fee.uva.nl/pp/amuller

University of Washington - Michael G. Foster School of Business ( email )

Box 353200
Seattle, WA 98195-3200
United States

Rob J.M. Van Tulder

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
Room T08-21
3000 DR Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands

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