Spatial structure and location of multi-national corporations in China—A case study of Samsung

The investment of Samsung Electronics in China is divided into three types: production companies, sales companies and R&D institutions. Based on an analysis of the spatial structure of Samsung’s three types of investment and parent company, it is put forward that regional bias exists during the operation of a multi-national corporation (MNC) in China, i.e., regional biases of technology, price, sales as well as decision-making. Front office and back office, two terms related closely with the location of modern MNCs, are defined and locational principles of each are studied. It is pointed out that production companies and R&D institutions belong to back office, while sales company falls into the type of front office. Based on a summarization on the spatial distribution of production companies, sales companies and R&D institutions, the locational principles of front office and back office are then applied in explaining the location of Samsung’s operating entities in China. By analyzing the spatial structure and locational principles of Samsung, a typical MNC in China, this paper aims to understand the internal operating mechanism of modern MNCs and then bring assistance to related policies to cope with those problems about MNCs that have attracted growing attention in recent years.