Edinburgh Napier University

  The investment decision-making process and investment determinants in the Northern Ireland manufacturing sector, Reg. Studies 28, 511-520. The way in which companies make investment decisions is one of the least understood processes in the workings of an economy. This paper is based on interviews with 45 manufacturing firms in Northern Ireland and sets out to: (1) describe reasons for company investment; and (2) extend this descriptive analysis by investigating how investment decisions are actually evaluated. The paper also assesses how investment appraisals have been affected by government capital grants. The results indicate that companies' reasons for investing and required rates of return on investments have changed over time. While it was found that a majority of companies formally evaluated investments, the use of formal appraisal techniques were frequently abandoned.