PRIORITIZING THE REGIONAL PREFERENCES OF TURKISH INVESTORS REGARDING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT BY ARLON METHOD

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) serves as a pivotal catalyst for globalization and economic development, as it enables the transnational transfer of capital, technology, skills, and knowledge. For the host country, FDI can stimulate economic growth by generating employment opportunities, improving infrastructure, and enhancing productivity levels. Conversely, for the investing country, FDI offers access to new markets, resources, and opportunities for diversification, thereby allowing companies to expand their global presence and enhance profitability. Given this significance of FDI and lack of relevant research, this study aimed to prioritize the regional preferences of Turkish investors for FDI in various countries, utilizing data provided by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Trade. Four distinct objective criterion weighting methods were utilized to assess the criteria, and compromise values were derived from the results obtained through these methods by employing a novel approach. To rank the nine different sub-continent groups, the “Alternative Ranking using two-step Logarithmic Normalization” (ARLON) method was employed. According to the research findings, the top three regions where Turkish investors perform best in FDI are European Union countries, other European countries and other Asian countries.