How Does Regional Economic Integration Influence MNEs’ Supply Chain Configurations? : German MNEs and the European Union’s 2004 Eastward Expansion

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Trade and Distribution, grade: 1,7, The University of York, language: English, abstract: The paper will investigate the influence of RTAs on MNEs'supply chain configurations. To do so, the behaviour of German MNE's after the 2004 EU enlargement will be considered, and German MNE's'supply chain activities in the new EU member states before and after the countries'accessions will be compared. In contrast to previous research focusing on FDI and trade flows, this research, based on secondary data of the German Central Bank and the World Bank Group, relies on further indicators to capture the effects of supply chain configuration. Supply chain activities of German MNEs'in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia grew faster after 2004, while in Estonia a slower growth in supply chain activities post 2004 was noticeable. For the case of Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia an overall positive development after 2004 was observable even though for single indicators a slower growth was detected. The results demonstrated that the EU accession increased German MNEs'supply chain activities in the new EU member countries, but country differences, based on locational characteristics the individual countries possess, exist.