Jan Suchacek

Head of the Department of Regional and Environmental Economics, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava,

Ostrava, Czech Republic

jan.suchacek@vsb.cz

LARGE ENTERPRISE BRANCHES: THE CASE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Abstract. Importance of largest enterprises is steadily augmenting. In contrast to small- and middle-sized firms, their large counterparts influence individual territorial economies with much higher intensity. The Czech Republic, which represents an object of the article, is acountry, where big companies traditionally played a relevant role. While headquarters of large enterprises have been subject to several solid analyses, an attention devoted to their first-tier affiliates is far from sufficient. In order to find meaningful similarities among location factors of first- tier affiliates of one hundred largest enterprises in the country, cluster analysis proved to be useful. Generally, attitudes of managements responsible for the location of first-tier affiliates turned out to be driven largely by pragmatism as a strategy to succeed in contemporary turbulent socioeconomic environment. The paper contributes to filling mainly in informational gaps.

Received: June, 2015

1st Revision: October, 2015

Accepted: November, 2015

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2015/8-4/6

JEL Classification: R10, R30, R39, L10, L20, L29

Keywords: location   factors,   first-tier   affiliates,   organizational structures, Czech Republic, cluster analysis.