The influence of corporate strategy, structure and technology on location of procurement and sales.

The influence of corporate structure, strategy and technology on the location of procurement and sales is the subject of this research. Results from a sample of 569 firms in Michigan's "Automation Alley" demonstrate that corporate $strategy$ and $structure$ explain location of procurement and sales, but level of $technological$ sophistication does not. As suggested by previous research, firm age explained purchasing behavior and local and regional sales; to a smaller extent, firm size and founder origin also determined location of procurement and sales. However, no significant relationship emerged between branch status and local purchases, contrary to the "branch plant economy" described in other parts of the world. Also in contradiction to previous studies, foreign firms purchased more locally than domestic firms. Differences in procurement and sales patterns by firm technology were not evident in this research: no significant relationship emerged between technology and local purchases after controlling for firm strategy. Firm strategy proved the most useful explanatory variable for location of procurement and sales. Using Miles and Snow's typology of business policies, analyzers purchased more locally and sold more to distant markets, while the least desirable pattern of purchasing and selling was exhibited by defenders and prospectors, who purchased less locally and sold more locally. These results call into question current efforts to seek high-tech, manufacturing firms because of their presumed economic growth effects. Overall, results indicate corporations should incorporate community impacts into the management planning process, and planners should consider strategy more than technology in attracting and prioritizing firms.PhDUrban, Technological and Environmental Planning Environmental PlanningUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/103394/1/9023563.pdfDescription of 9023563.pdf : Restricted to UM users only