Abstract
Company relocation processes are a very complex field, with a major impact on economy on a local, regional and global scale. On the local scale, company relocation occurs very often across major metropolitan areas. Research on this subject has been conducted both in Western Europe and the USA for several decades now, yet studies in this area in Central and Eastern Europe are limited. The current study focuses on company relocation in major metropolitan areas in Poland in the years 2001–2013. The objective of the article is, therefore, to describe the processes of relocation of business entities in five Polish metropolitan areas from the point of view of the characteristics of the companies relocating. The considered characteristics include company age, its size and type of business. The question of the distance of the relocation is also considered. Our research has confirmed findings noted by researchers in the Netherlands and the USA in terms of companies’ decision to relocate depending on tenure and size, as well as sectors that tend to be most mobile. At the same time, our study prompts new questions which need to be answered by advanced research in the future. Particularly important is the question of the economic consequences of relocation processes, at both a local and a broader, regional level. It is therefore essential to carry out further in-depth research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In the three metropolitan areas—Kraków, Wrocław and Poznań—data were gathered from both the core area (city centre) and the external zone (ring). In the latter case, this concerned companies with more than nine employees, and for the core, more than 49 employees. For two metropolitan areas—Warszawa and Łódź—no data were collected for urban cores, but only for companies in the external zone with more than nine employees. This was dictated by limitations on time and organisation in collecting and analysing such a large amount of data. The authors are aware, however, that this approach entailed a considerable simplification, since according to the incubator hypothesis, the centres of metropolitan areas are home to many companies which then move to suburban districts. Adopting a method of data collection that ignores the centres of these two metropolitan areas can have an impact on the interpretation of results. We therefore endeavoured to keep this limitation in mind whenever drawing conclusions from the results.
- 2.
In Poland, there is currently no extensive source of company contact information that could be used for a larger number of administrative units. Tax offices have access to such data, but do not make it available for research purposes. Furthermore, each tax office operates on an individual basis, and it would therefore be necessary to obtain permission for access to data from the relevant office for each location.
References
Contractor, F. J., Kumar, V., Kundu, S. K., & Pedersen, T. (2010). Reconceptualizing the firm in a world of outsourcing and offshoring: The organizational and geographical relocation of high-value company functions. Journal of Management Studies, 47(8), 1417–1433.
Dej, M. (2011). Mechanizmy skutki oddziaływania dużych przedsiębiorstw w obszarach metropolitalnych (Ph.D. thesis, non-published). Jagiellonian University, Kraków.
Elias, P., & Keogh, G. (1982). Industrial decline and unemployment in the inner city areas of Great Britain: A review of the evidence. Urban Studies, 1, 1–15.
Gereffi, G., Humphrey, J., & Sturgeon, T. (2005). The governance of global value chains. Review of International Political Economy, 12(1), 78–104.
Hayter, R. (1997). The dynamics of industrial location. The factory, the firm and the production system. New York: Wiley.
Hoover, E. M., & Vernon, R. (1962). Anatomy of a metropolis. New York: Anchor Books.
Humphrey, J., & Schmitz, H. (2002). How does insertion in global value chains affect upgrading in industrial clusters? Regional Studies, 36(9), 1–16.
Isard, W. (1956). Location and space-economy. New York: Wiley.
Iseki, H., & Jones, R. (2014). Analysis of firm location and relocation around Maryland and Washington, DC metro rail stations. Paper submitted for a presentation at a Bi-National Symposium Featuring Paris, France, and Washington, DC on Transit, Transit Oriented Development, and Urban Form.
Jarczewski, W., & Huculak, M. (Eds.). (2011). Sukces polityki proinwestycyjnej. Niepołomice 1990–2010. Wnioski dla władz lokalnych, Institute of Urban Development, Kraków.
Kemper, N. J., & Pellenbarg, P. H. (1997). De Randstad een hogedrukpan. Economisch Statistische Berichten, 82, 508–512.
Klaassen, L. H., & Molle, W. T. M. (Eds.). (1983). Industrial mobility and migration in the European community. Aldershot: Gower.
Leone, R. A., & Struyk, R. (1976). The incubation hypothesis: Evidence from five SMA’s. Urban Studies, 13(3), 325–331.
Machlup, F. (1967). Theories of the firm: Marginalist, behavioural, managerial. American Economic Review, 57, 1–33.
Marin, D. (2005). A new international division of labor in Europe: Outsourcing and offshoring to Eastern Europe. SSRN Electronic Journal.
McDermott, P. (1973). Spatial margins and industrial location in New Zealand. New Zealand Geographer, 29, 64–74.
Ortona, G., & Santagata, W. (1983). Industrial mobility in the Turin metropolitan area, 1961-77. Urban Studies, 20(1), 59–71.
Pellenbarg, P. H. (1985). Bedrijfsrelokatieen ruimtelijke kognitie (Firm relocation and spatial cognition). Sociaal-geografische Reeks, 33, FRW/RUG, Groningen.
Pellenbarg, P. H. (2010). Firm migration. Janglin, China: Northwest A&F University.
Pellenbarg, P. H., van Wissen, L. J. G., & van Dijk, J. (2002). Firm relocation: state of the art and research prospects. Groningen: University of Groningen, SOM research school.
Pen, C. J. (1999). Improving behavioural location theory; preliminary results of a written questionnaire about strategic decision making on firm relocations. Paper presented to the ERSA Congress, Dublin.
Pen, C. J. (2000). Actors, causes and phases in the decision-making process of relocated firms in the Netherlands. Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen.
Pred, A.R. (1967) Behavior and location: foundations for a geographic and dynamic location theory: Part 1. University of Lund, Lund Studies in Geography B, no. 27
Pred, A.R. (1969) Behavior and location: foundations for a geographic and dynamic location theory: Part 2. University of Lund, Lund Studies in Geography B, no. 28
Rawstron, E. M. (1958). Three principles of industrial location. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 25, 132–142.
Scott, A. J. (2000). Economic geography: The great half-century. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 24(4), 483–504.
Smętkowski, M., Jałowiecki, B., & Gorzelak, G. (2008). Diagnoza problemów rozwoju obszarów metropolitalnych i rekomendacja delimitacji obszarów metropolitalnych w Polsce. Centrum Europejskich Studiów Regionalnych i Lokalnych EUROREG, University of Warsaw, Warsaw.
Smith, D. M. (1966). A theoretical framework for geographical studies of industrial location. Economic Geography, 42, 96–113.
Smith, D. M. (1971). Industrial location: An economic geographical analysis. New York: Wiley.
Taylor, M. J. (1970). Location decisions of small firms. Area, 2, 51–54.
Townroe, P. M. (1973). The supply of mobile industry: A cross-sectional analysis. Regional and Urban Economics, 2(4), 371–386.
Townroe, P. M. (1979). Industrial movement, experience in the US and the UK. Westmead: Saxon House.
Van Dijk, J., & Pellenbarg, P. H. (Eds.). (2000). Demography of firms; spatial dynamics of firm behavior., Netherlands Geographical Studies, 262 Utrecht/Groningen: KNAG/FRW RUG.
Xiaoxia, F., Houkai, W., & Lixue, W. (2010). Analysis of urban industrial relocation’s incentive, approaches and effects—Taking Beijing as an example. In W. Houkai, B. Mei, & W. Yeqiang (Eds.), Series on Chinese Economics Research, Vol. 3. The macro-analysis of regional economy in China. A perspective of firm relocation (pp. 327–344). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.
Acknowledgements
The chapter was written as part of a research project financed by Poland’s National Science Centre: The processes of relocation and spatial expansion of business in metropolitan areas, SONATA grant competition no. 192273, grant period 2012–2017.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dej, M., Jarczewski, W., Chlebicki, M. (2019). Relocation of Economic Activity Within Major Metropolitan Areas in Poland—Scale and Key Characteristics. In: Capik, P., Dej, M. (eds) Relocation of Economic Activity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92282-9_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92282-9_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92281-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92282-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)