ABSTRACT
A foreign investment decision process is a very complicated social process, involving an intricate structure of attitudes and opinions, social relationships both in and outside the firm, and the way such attitudes, opinions and social relations are changing. It contains various elements of individual and organizational behavior, influenced by the past and the perception of the future as well as by the present. Investment decisions in business are based on the alternatives which are known to exist, or those which have emerged from previous activities of the business unit. The forces leading an organization to consider the possibility of launching a project outside the United States might be classified into those arising within the organization and those exogenous to it, stemming from its environment. In the first category are forces arising from a strong interest by one or several high-ranking executives inside the organization. The very fact that an organization is making an investigation creates new commitments.
