Components of Locational Change in Multi-Plant Enterprises

This paper examines the nature, relative importance and spatial patterns of the changes made over a six-year period by a representative sample of 64 small and medium size multiplant enterprises to the number, location, size and products of their plants. The locational changes occurred frequently, plant size changes, closures and acquisitions were the most common. Significant differences were found in the spatial patterns of the components of change. However, these variations occurred at different spatial levels, implying that the processes of locational change varied with the scale of analysis. The employment performance of the enterprises was markedly better than that of their industries, suggesting that an urban and regional policy of encouraging and fostering medium-sized enterprises may be a fruitful one.