Control functions within large cities and foreign direct investment in the transport sector: Empirical evidence from Poland

Abstract

On the basis of inventory research carried out by the authors on single transport FDI, a hierarchy of the ten largest Polish cities is created, and then related to the number of inhabitants. The paper focuses on the location of corporate headquarters (HQs) serving various control (decision-making) functions and simultaneously playing an urban-creative role. The analysis confirms in part only the idea that the more advanced the branch of the economy, the more the city in which a corporate HQ is located is likely to occupy a higher rank in the administrative hierarchy, with a simultaneous large number of affiliates. The findings arise out of in-depth research, albeit on the basis of a relatively small number of incidences of foreign investment in the Polish transport sector. Whether it is the criteria of absolute amount of capital invested, number of employees or number of controlled investments, it is consistently the city of Warsaw and its metropolitan area that tops the rankings. Alongside inter-urban differentiation in transport FDI, analysis also confirms substantial intra-urban variation.