Organizational and Spatial Determinants of the Multi-unit Firm: Evidence from French Industry

GALLIANO D. and SOULIE N. Organizational and spatial determinants of the multi-unit firm: evidence from French industry, Regional Studies. This article aims to analyse the factors (internal characteristics, spatial and industrial environments) that determine the existence of multi-unit firms and the intensity of their organizational fragmentation at a national scale. The empirical models are based on individual data on all French industrial firms collected by the French National Institute of Statistics. The results show the importance of internal characteristics (scale economies, specific assets as research and development and advertising, skill level, etc.) in organizational choice. They also highlight the major role played by multi-location and by the spatial profile of the firms on the intensity of their fragmentation.