This research looks at foreign direct investment in “support” functions such as R&D and employee training facilities, through a study of the globalisation of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Linkages among investments are highlighted. Centripetal forces are identified which ”pull“ later-stage FDI to the sites of initial investments, resulting in the creation of integrated, self-contained value chains overseas. Specific examples of R&D and employee training FDI suggest that while the purpose of support function FDI is to gain cost or differentiation benefits, successful implementation requires effective knowledge creation and transfer capabilities.