How business-related governance strategies impact paths towards the formation of global cities? An institutional embeddedness perspective

Abstract

Global city formation has become an important goal for many cities in developing countries. However, the influence of governance strategies on a city’s paths towards the formation of global city is rarely studied in literature. To explore how business-related governance strategies impact global city formation, this paper uses the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to investigate the complex causality of determinants and different paths towards future potential of global cities. The results show that three configurative interactions of sufficient conditions consisting of the cordial and cleanrelationship between government and business yield high potential for global city formation, including Path 1: a combination of reducing tax burdens for enterprises and government transparency with the absence of political integrity. Path 2: a combination of reducing tax burdens for enterprises, absence of government’s care and support for enterprises, and government transparency. Path 3: a combination of government’s services for enterprises, reducing tax burdens for enterprises, and government transparency. This research is significant in delineating causal complexity of different governance strategies and factors interacting with each other to coproduce an institutional environment that contributes to a city’s paths towards global city.