Spatial Distribution Pattern of the Headquarters of Listed Firms in China

This study chose 4667 listed firms with headquarters in China as the research objects. The spatial aggregations of headquarters in sub-periods and subsectors were investigated based on prefecture-level cities using Global Moran's I statistic, the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic, and kernel density estimation. The spatial association and frequent patterns of headquarters belonging to different sectors were analyzed using the Apriori algorithm. The results showed the following: (1) Most headquarters of listed firms agglomerate around megacities and concentrate in the coastal regions. (2) Many prefer that headquarters be located in an area within a 5 km radius, forming the pivotal local industry cluster. (3) Industrial, information technology, and consumer discretionary firms show a higher degree of agglomeration than materials and health care firms. Materials and consumer discretionary industries have a stronger spillover effect on surrounding cities compared to industrial, information technology, and health care firms. (4) Service industries show a strong spatial association with other sectors at all distance thresholds and frequent items. These results can provide a reference for future considerations of headquarters locations, industrial development, and the reshaping of urban networks.