Manufacturers' Location Decisions: Do Surveys Provide Helpful Insights?

David L. Barkley and Kevin T. McNamara
Additional contact information
David L. Barkley: Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Clemson University, Clemson SC 29634-0355 USA
Kevin T. McNamara: Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907 USA

International Regional Science Review, 1994, vol. 17, issue 1, 23-47

Abstract: Survey responses from 110 branch plant start-ups in South Carolina and Georgia were examined to determine ratings and characteristics of counties selected for the plant location. Findings indicate that survey responses and community characteristics were correlated only for easily observed criteria (e.g., distance to airport or interstate highway) and location factors of critical importance to the firm (e.g., availability of skilled labor for high-tech firms). Also, the correlation between factor ratings and county-level proxy measures was stronger for larger establishments than for smaller ones, indicating a more limited search process by smaller manufacturers. Research findings suggest that locational factors should be reported by highly disaggregated categories. A return to a "case studies" approach may be useful to gain insights into location decisions.

Date: 1994
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/016001769401700102 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:17:y:1994:i:1:p:23-47

DOI: 10.1177/016001769401700102

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Regional Science Review
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().