Headquarters Research and Implications for Local Development

Drawing from both the professional literature and from a conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2004, the author summarizes findings and draws implications concerning the locational tendencies of stand-alone headquarters operations. In the United States, the geography of large company headquarters is becoming more dispersed toward medium-sized metropolitan areas even as the headquarters needs for urban infrastructure and amenities continue to sharpen. The location of the firm’s branch plant locations will be critical for many headquarters, so developing a strategy focused on a region’s own industry specializations should be considered. So too, as the organizational structure of firms becomes more complex and globally dispersed, many specialized establishments can be found under the same umbrella, making it imperative for local development practitioners to determine their region’s functional niche.