Changes in the location of command and control functions in the world in the years 2006-2018

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to answer the following question: Are corporate revenues and the command and control functions of cities, regions, and countries the result of growth at firms already in the area or are they the result of the in-migration of corporate headquarters? The paper also shows corporate revenues for selected cities and regions of the world as well as examines their command and control function, which illustrates the strength of cities and countries in the global economy. In order to accomplish this goal, corporate revenue values were examined and the command and control function index was calculated for each studied city. The index is based on corporate sales revenue, profits, market value, and asset value, and is computed using financial data for corporations listed by Forbes Global 2000. Research has shown that the significance of existing leaders such as New York and London is declining in favor of Beijing - which is now characterized by the most important command and control functions in the world economy. Furthermore, Chinese corporations are outpacing those headquartered in Japan, although changes in the location of corporate headquarters does not strongly affect the command and control function of cities and countries. In light of the fact that the number of corporations changing the location of their headquarters has increased in recent years along with an increase in corporate revenue, cities oriented toward economic growth may choose to take action to motivate large corporations to move their headquarters to their geographic area.