ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to reconsider the factors that affect the decisions to locate and develop offshoring and outsourcing firms in Krakow. The author assumes that business and technological perspectives are too narrow to fully explain how specific places attract business process outsourcing (BPO) enterprises. He argues that an important role in this context should be attributed to political factors and examines the impact of various kinds of public authorities and actors in attracting investment and promoting the development of the business services sector. The discussion is placed in the context of debates concerning the economic and political aspects of foreign direct investment (FDI), business network embeddedness, and the institutional aspects of national systems of production and innovation. The main part of this chapter discusses the research findings based on a questionnaire survey addressed to CEOs and interviews involving both the representatives of business services and public authorities.
