Why do businesses avoid certain countries? In part, it's... the Hassle Factor
Research shows travel inconveniences affect a company's foreign location choices. The prevalent assumption in business research and practice is that multinational enterprises choose their foreign locations based on purely macroeconomic or market factors and not managerial preferences. This assumption is far from reality.
We conducted many interviews with executives about factors that influence their firms’ foreign location decisions. We found that these decisions are not detached from microfoundational managerial preferences and are instead often based on how troublesome it is for managers to travel to or live in certain places. The consequence is that even the most reputable multinationals frequently end up with a location mix that is suboptimal for their future global growth.
The Journal of International Business Studies published the full research study in 2013:
Schotter, A., & Beamish, P. W. (2013). The hassle factor: An explanation for managerial location shunning. Journal of International Business Studies, 44(5), 521-544.