FOREIGN FIRMS AND THE PERCEPTION OF REGIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC: A STATISTICAL EXAMINATION

Foreign investment is of particularly importance in countries undergoing far-reaching economic transformation. Also the location of foreign investment throughout the country is very important for further regional development. Actual location decisions of investors are influenced by various factors, but it is rather obvious that behind these decisions there is also always a lack of information or a distorted view of potential locations and regions for investment. The aim of this paper is to indicate the image of Czech regions that foreign entrepreneurs construct and to understand the character of spatial perceptions of foreign entrepreneurs from various points of view in order to find out what main factors are influencing location decisions of foreign investors in the country. The paper provides a summary of preliminary results of the survey. It provides current mental maps of foreign entrepreneurs and the most important results of explanatory statistical analyses. Copyright (c) 2007 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.