Corporate organization and manufacturing branch plant closures in non-metropolitan areas

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Abstract
Erickson R. A. (1980) Corporate organization and manufacturing branch plant closures in non-metropolitan areas, Reg. Studies 14, 491–501. The establishment of branch plants in non-metropolitan areas by metropolitan-based corporations has substantially increased manufacturing employment in many of the former regions. However, there has been speculation that, because branch plants are relatively easy to establish, corporations would be likely to close such plants in the event of recession or operating difficulties of the organization. Data on the performance of a large set of plants in non-metropolitan Wisconsin indicate that such branches are far less likely to close than establishments in general. This paper also examines the influences of alternative corporate organizational structures and related plant interdependencies, market environments, levels of capital investment, and acquisition on branch plant closure rates.