Analysis of Location Decisions of BOI-Registered Firms in Highly Urbanized Cities of Davao and General Santos

Abstract

This study analyzed the location decisions of BOI-registered firms in the highly urbanized cities of Davao and General Santos using Porter’s Diamond Model. It involved 30 firm respondents, 25 firms are located in Davao City, and five (5) firms are in General Santos City. The study employed a mixed methods approach combining key informant interviews, document reviews, and surveys with the existing BOI-registered firms; it explores the existing local investment and incentive codes and the perceptions of firms’ competitiveness before and after locating in these two (2) highly urbanized cities.

The study shows that before and after locating, the firms in Davao and General Santos Cities perceived the firm strategy, structure, rivalry, and the related and supporting industries, as the most competitive factors in Porter’s Diamond Model. Moreover, significant differences in the overall perception of firms before and after locating across the dimensions of factor conditions, demand conditions, firm strategy and rivalry, related and supporting industries, government, and chance resulted in the acceptance of the hypothesis of the study using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test.

The study’s recommendations highlighted different investment promotion activities divided into four categories: Image Building Activities, Investment Generating Activities, Investment Servicing Activities, and Policy Advocacy.