City System Behaviour and Corporate Influence: The Headquarters Location of US Industrial Firms, 1955-75

Research on the locational patterns of corporate headquarters in the United States shows that corporate control has become less concentrated over the past 25 years. Analysis of the largest 500 industrial corporations reveals a trend toward a more balanced distribution on a regional basis but a greater degree of stability within the rank size hierarchy. The largest cities, regardless of their location, tend to be the steering points in the economic system. Although corporate headquarters have been decentralising to the suburbs, they are able to do so without surrendering their accessibility to specialised contact networks, ancillary business services, and inter-metropolitan transportation networks.