Num artigo recente publicado no Journal of International Business Studies, designado “Diplomatic and corporate networks: Bridges to foreign locations” (que pode ser acedido aqui), um grupo de investigadores, nomeadamente Jing Li, Klaus E. Meyer, Hua Zhang e Yuan Ding, referem o seguinte:
"Firms and governments operate in broad networks in which the home
government and its diplomatic service are a critical node – or a “referral
point” – between firms and potential partners in foreign locations. Thus
diplomatic relations between countries matter for the choice of foreign
investment location. Using a network perspective, we argue that the extent to
which good diplomatic relations induce firms to invest in friendly host
countries depends on their political connections to home governments. Those
with stronger ties to home governments can better access and leverage
intergovernmental diplomatic connections, thus benefiting potentially from
enhanced access to information, reduced political risks, and increased
legitimacy”.
Trata-se de uma investigação que teve por base a análise das decisões de
investimento no exterior de empresas chinesas e que surge num momento particularmente
relevante caracterizado por uma grande instabilidade ao nível das relações comerciais internacionais, e de alguns dos acordos que as enquadram, e em
que vários países europeus, entre os quais Portugal, tentam reforçar as suas ligações
politicas e económicas, e as acções da chamada “diplomacia económica”, com um
conjunto de países, alguns deles extra-comunitários.
