The role of social network structures in foreign direct investment activities of Turkish business groups

The main purpose of this study is to examine the effect of network structures of Turkish business groups on foreign direct investment decisions. For this purpose, it is envisaged to examine the social network structure (in the dimensions of centrality and betweenness) at the level of the enterprise group by considering overlapping boards of directors. The scope of the study consists of 11 business groups determined according to the deliberate sampling method, 73 subsidiaries operating as affiliated companies of these business groups, and a total of 323 foreign direct investments of these business groups. In the research, the network structure of a total of 84 enterprises(11 holdings and 73 affiliated companies) was analyzed using the UCINET 6 program during the years 2006-2019, and the graphics of the network structure were obtained through the Netdraw 2.173 program. The hypotheses developed within the scope of the study were tested by analyzing the panel regression model with 154 observations through the STATA 13.0 program. The results of the research show that the effects of social networking characteristics of Turkish business groups on FDI activities may differ. Considering the importance of social networks in identifying opportunities in the internationalization process and initiating the internationalization process, it is thought that the findings will contribute to better defining the FDI activities and decisions of developing country-origin companies and to revealing the important dynamics behind the decisions.