This study investigates how the structure of a domestic firm-to-firm transaction network influences the foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions of embedded firms in the network. We theoretically describe firms’ FDI decisions using an incomplete information game that considers the firm-to-firm transactions of intermediate inputs and in which firms have an incentive to collocate with their trading partners in foreign markets. We show that the probability of a firm engaging in FDI increases with its Katz–Bonacich centrality, which is defined as aggregated accessibility to all other firms and represents expected profit gained from colocation with its partners. We empirically show that this prediction is supported using disaggregated inter-firm transaction network data on Japanese firms. We also extended both theoretical and empirical frameworks to consider the dynamic aspect of FDI. When we consider existing foreign affiliates, accessibility to prior investors in the transaction network, named Katz–Bonacich accessibility, positively influences FDI as well as Katz–Bonacich centrality.

这项研究调查了国内公司对公司交易网络的结构如何影响网络中嵌入式公司的外国直接投资（FDI）决策。从理论上讲，我们使用不完整的信息博弈来描述企业的FDI决策，该博弈考虑了中间投入的企业间交易，并且企业有动机与外国市场上的贸易伙伴结伴。我们表明，企业进行FDI的概率随着其Katz-Bonacich中心度的提高而增加，该中心度被定义为所有其他公司的总可及性，代表了与其合作伙伴共同托管获得的预期利润。我们凭经验表明，使用日本公司的分类企业间交易网络数据可以支持此预测。我们还扩展了理论和经验框架，以考虑外国直接投资的动态方面。当我们考虑现有的外国子公司时，交易网络中先前投资者的可及性（称为Katz-Bonacich的可及性）会对FDI以及Katz-Bonacich的集中性产生积极影响。