The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of ethnic networks on firms’ location decisions using social network theory and the homophily principle.,A traditional gravity model is used on a sample composed of high-skilled and low-skilled ethnic networks and multinational enterprises (MNEs) from Latin America, North America and the European Union.,Contrary to findings of previous studies, ethnic networks do not appear to influence location decisions of Latin American firms expanding into countries from North America and the European Union. This might be because of weak ethnic connections among the players.,Managers must be aware that ethnic networks not always can be used for the strategy of the firm, at least regarding location.,Governments and entrepreneurial and immigrant associations from home and host countries could develop initiatives addressed to strengthening the links between the members of the networks.,This study extends the social network theory in the sense that ethnic networks do not always positively affect firms’ location. Moreover, it is important to consider the specific context or features of the members of a network before analyzing its effects on firms’ location.

中文翻译：

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种族网络和跨国公司的选址决策

这项研究的目的是利用社会网络理论和同质性原理来识别种族网络对企业选址决策的影响。传统的引力模型用于由高技能和低技能种族网络以及跨国公司组成的样本中来自拉丁美洲，北美和欧盟的企业（MNE）。与先前的研究结果相反，族裔网络似乎不影响拉丁美洲公司从北美和欧盟扩展到其他国家的地区选择决策。这可能是由于参与者之间的种族联系薄弱所致。经理必须意识到，至少在位置方面，种族网络并不总是可以用于公司的战略。来自本国和所在国的政府以及企业家协会和移民协会可以制定旨在加强网络成员之间联系的倡议。本研究扩展了社会网络理论，即种族网络并不总是会积极影响企业的地理位置。此外，在分析网络成员对企业所在地的影响之前，必须考虑网络成员的具体背景或特征。