For decades, economic development strategies were built around one primary objective: attract capital.

Governments pursued large investments, offered incentives, and measured success in dollars committed or facilities constructed. Companies, in turn, selected locations based on cost efficiency, tax structures, and logistical advantages. The relationship was transactional: capital flowed in, jobs followed, and growth was expected to occur around the project.

That model is changing.

Across many regions, the focus is shifting from attracting investment to attracting operating companies, organizations that will actively participate in local industries, collaborate with partners, and integrate into the economic fabric of a place rather than simply locate within it.

In knowledge-driven sectors, value does not come only from infrastructure or funding. It comes from interaction.

A company entering a new market needs more than an address. It needs customers willing to adopt innovation, partners capable of implementation, workforce alignment, and institutions that understand the technology or service being introduced. Without those conditions, even well-funded expansions stall.

Because of this, regions are beginning to evaluate success differently. Instead of asking how much investment arrived, they are asking whether companies stayed, collaborated, and scaled.

The difference is subtle but significant: investment builds projects; integration builds ecosystems.

The Rise of Ecosystem-Based Attraction

This shift is reshaping how regions present themselves internationally. Rather than emphasizing incentives alone, they increasingly highlight sector strengths, industry access, research partners, and pathways to real adoption.

Companies, in response, are changing how they choose locations.

Instead of selecting a country and adapting afterward, they look for environments where their solution already has relevance. The decision becomes less about entering the United States broadly and more about identifying a specific regional economy where their offering fits existing priorities.

In practice, expansion begins with understanding before establishment.

From Site Selection to Fit Selection

Traditional site selection evaluated operational feasibility: cost, logistics, workforce size.

Today, companies are conducting what could be described as “fit selection.” They want to know:

• Who will implement this locally?

• Which industries actually need it?

• Are there early adopters nearby?

• Does the regulatory environment align with our use case?

These questions cannot be answered through documentation alone. They require dialogue — conversations with stakeholders who shape how business actually functions within a region.

As a result, market entry increasingly starts with engagement rather than incorporation.

A Collaborative Entry Point

This evolution is creating new forms of interaction between companies and regions. Instead of formal commitments first and relationships later, both sides are choosing to understand expectations before resources are committed.

Regions gain companies that integrate more successfully.
Companies gain markets they can realistically scale within.

Expansion becomes less about relocation and more about joining an operating environment.

What This Means for Market Entry

The most significant implication is that entering a new market is no longer a single decision point. It is a sequence of confirmations, technical, operational, and relational, that determine whether presence will translate into participation.

Companies that treat expansion as a collaborative process tend to move faster once they launch. Not because the market is easier, but because they have already aligned with it.

In this emerging model, geography still matters but alignment matters more.