This research investigates the location choices of gaming industry in Malmö, focusing on factors influencing both small and large firms. Through eight semi-structured interviews and analysis of media archive documents, the research explored the twofold nature of location decisions: the choice of Malmö as a city and the selection of specific locations within Malmö. This study shows that gaming firms consider a combination of hard and soft location factors when choosing to locate in Malmö. Key hard factors include the presence of a strong gaming community, access to high-skilled talent, proximity to other gaming companies, proximity to Copenhagen airport, and public investments from the city and region. The primary soft factor identified is the cultural aspects of the city. Personal connections the founders of the firms had with Malmö played a significant role in the location decisions of small firms. Furthermore, the study highlights differences in location preferences between small and large gaming firms when choosing a specific location within Malmö. Small firms prioritized hard location factors such as affordable office space over soft location factors while big firms prioritized soft location factors such as quality of the building and the size of office space to accommodate the employees over hard location factors. This study contributes to the understanding of location choices in the gaming industry and underscores the importance of tailoring urban development strategies to accommodate the diverse needs of gaming firms. By recognizing the distinct preferences of small and large firms, policymakers can implement targeted interventions to foster a conducive environment for gaming industry growth in Malmö and beyond. Future research should explore comparative analyses across cities to gain broader insights into industry dynamics and inform tailored strategies for urban development in gaming cities.

Este estudo teve como objetivo central identificar quais fatores locacionais influenciaram a tomada de decisão de expandir os investimentos da atividade vitivinícola por parte dos empresários atuantes na Serra Gaúcha - principal pólo vitivinícola do país. Observou-se um movimento de expansão territorial da atividade vitivinícola para novas regiões do Rio Grande do Sul (Serra do Sudeste e Campanha) e para o Vale do São Francisco (Bahia e Pernambuco), regiões em que, anteriormente, não havia a prática de tal cultura. As informações da presente pesquisa foram obtidas através de entrevista direta, orientada por um questionário, com representantes das vinícolas. A abrangência da pesquisa foi de 73,3% da população alvo e foi realizada nos meses de dezembro/2005 no Rio Grande do Sul e janeiro/2006 no Vale do São Francisco. Os dados das entrevistas foram tratados com aplicação da estatística descritiva, pois grande parte das perguntas foi de ordem qualitativa. A hipótese que circunda este estudo é de que na agroindústria, as variáveis que envolvem a matéria-prima (qualidade, local de fornecimento) são os principais fatores que influenciam a tomada de decisão do sítio de produção. Como referencial teórico, associou-se as teorias relacionadas aos fatores locacionais com a teoria de Bowersox (1978). Através da pesquisa, pode-se verificar que a atividade vitivinícola brasileira mostrou estar condicionada à distribuição espacial dos recursos produtivos, destacando-se os fatores edafoclimáticos, qualidade da matéria-prima, fator comportamental do empresário e disponibilidade de terras. A pesquisa revelou que as empresas estão preocupadas com a qualidade final do produto (vinho), a qual é otimizada pela qualidade da matéria-prima (uva) que, por sua vez, depende das condições edafoclimáticas da região produtiva. Tal preocupação e/ou necessidade provocou esta expansão geográfica da atividade para a Serra do Sudeste e Campanha (no estado do Rio Grande do Sul) e no Vale do São Francisco. Esta última região também se mostrou alvo de investimentos estrangeiros e tornou-se (e ainda se torna) atrativa por apresentar excelentes condições edafoclimáticas, capacidade de duas safras por ano e produção constante no decorrer do ano, além de instalações processadoras de menor porte. / The purpose of this work is to identify which locational variables influenced the decision made by producers from the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), main viticulturist state in Brasil, to expand investments on the wine industry. There was a movement of territorial expansion of wine production to new regions in RS (Serra do Sudeste and Campanha) and to Vale do São Francisco, in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco, regions in which he grape agriculture hadrit started yet. The direct-interview with viticulturists was the main source of information used by this work. This research embraced 73,3% of the producers investing in those new regions, and it was conducted during December/2005, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, and January/2006, in Vale do São Francisco. Descriptive statistic has been applied to summarize the data obtained with the interviews, due to qualitative variables representing most of the questions. The main hypothesis of this work suggests that in the agroindustry, variables involving raw material (quality, supplier) are the main factors in making the decision as to production area. A review of Bowersox Theory (1978) associated with the theory of locational factors was employed as theoretical referential. As for results, it was possible to validate that Brazilian viticulture was conditioned to the place distribution of productive resources, standing out the following factors: edaphoclimatics, raw material quality, manager behavior and land availability. Thus, the research revealed that companies have been concerned regarding the quality of the final product (wine), which is optimized through raw material quality (grape) that depends on edaphoclimatic conditions of the productive area. Indeed, the need to achieve a higher level of quality forced the viticulture to expand its production area to Serra do Sudeste and Campanha (RS) and Vale do São Francisco, which has recently turned into an attractive area to foreign investment, because of its excellent edaphoclimatic conditions, two harvests a year, continuous output year round and a small agroindustry.

Distribution, warehousing and logistics facilities located in Canadian municipalities have significant impacts on surrounding land uses and on nearby transportation infrastructure, not to mention the broader socio-economic environment. While there is considerable literature available concerning the location choices of generic industrial firms, explorations of logistics firms’ locations have been less extensive. This is somewhat surprising because of the increasing ‘footlooseness’ of logistics firms and the potential issues surrounding their activity, for example related to the amount of freight traffic that they generate. There is a need for the public sector, including planners and economic developers, to better understand the requirements of the logistics industry in order to accommodate these firms while mitigating potentially adverse impacts to communities. The goal of this thesis is to identify and assess the relative importance of factors that influence the location choices of logistics firms in a municipality, and to identify potential issues of operational conflict between municipalities, their residents, and logistics firms. A web-based survey of logistics professionals has been carried out to help address this goal. Semi-structured interviews were then undertaken with participants who completed the survey and indicated an interest in further participation in the study. Overall, 42 completed survey responses were received, and 10 follow up phone interviews were conducted. The ability to operate 24/7 was reported as one of the most important location factors in addition to land costs, proximity to transportation infrastructure, and access to a skilled workforce. Transportation infrastructures such as rail intermodal facilities and airports are seen as important regional considerations but close proximity is not important on a site specific level. Through interview results participants indicated problems with parking bylaw requirements, and operating restrictions during the nighttime as challenges related to their specific location. Results confirm general understanding of what drives location choice for industrial firms, but the additional necessity for a robust operating environment for logistics firms highlights the need for planners to pay particular attention to the specific requirements of this important economic sector.

Distribution, warehousing and logistics facilities located in Canadian municipalities have significant impacts on surrounding land uses and on nearby transportation infrastructure, not to mention the broader socio-economic environment. While there is considerable literature available concerning the location choices of generic industrial firms, explorations of logistics firms’ locations have been less extensive. This is somewhat surprising because of the increasing ‘footlooseness’ of logistics firms and the potential issues surrounding their activity, for example related to the amount of freight traffic that they generate. There is a need for the public sector, including planners and economic developers, to better understand the requirements of the logistics industry in order to accommodate these firms while mitigating potentially adverse impacts to communities. The goal of this thesis is to identify and assess the relative importance of factors that influence the location choices of logistics firms in a municipality, and to identify potential issues of operational conflict between municipalities, their residents, and logistics firms. A web-based survey of logistics professionals has been carried out to help address this goal. Semi-structured interviews were then undertaken with participants who completed the survey and indicated an interest in further participation in the study. Overall, 42 completed survey responses were received, and 10 follow up phone interviews were conducted. The ability to operate 24/7 was reported as one of the most important location factors in addition to land costs, proximity to transportation infrastructure, and access to a skilled workforce. Transportation infrastructures such as rail intermodal facilities and airports are seen as important regional considerations but close proximity is not important on a site specific level. Through interview results participants indicated problems with parking bylaw requirements, and operating restrictions during the nighttime as challenges related to their specific location. Results confirm general understanding of what drives location choice for industrial firms, but the additional necessity for a robust operating environment for logistics firms highlights the need for planners to pay particular attention to the specific requirements of this important economic sector.

Este estudo teve como objetivo central identificar quais fatores locacionais influenciaram a tomada de decisão de expandir os investimentos da atividade vitivinícola por parte dos empresários atuantes na Serra Gaúcha - principal pólo vitivinícola do país. Observou-se um movimento de expansão territorial da atividade vitivinícola para novas regiões do Rio Grande do Sul (Serra do Sudeste e Campanha) e para o Vale do São Francisco (Bahia e Pernambuco), regiões em que, anteriormente, não havia a prática de tal cultura. As informações da presente pesquisa foram obtidas através de entrevista direta, orientada por um questionário, com representantes das vinícolas. A abrangência da pesquisa foi de 73,3% da população alvo e foi realizada nos meses de dezembro/2005 no Rio Grande do Sul e janeiro/2006 no Vale do São Francisco. Os dados das entrevistas foram tratados com aplicação da estatística descritiva, pois grande parte das perguntas foi de ordem qualitativa. A hipótese que circunda este estudo é de que na agroindústria, as variáveis que envolvem a matéria-prima (qualidade, local de fornecimento) são os principais fatores que influenciam a tomada de decisão do sítio de produção. Como referencial teórico, associou-se as teorias relacionadas aos fatores locacionais com a teoria de Bowersox (1978). Através da pesquisa, pode-se verificar que a atividade vitivinícola brasileira mostrou estar condicionada à distribuição espacial dos recursos produtivos, destacando-se os fatores edafoclimáticos, qualidade da matéria-prima, fator comportamental do empresário e disponibilidade de terras. A pesquisa revelou que as empresas estão preocupadas com a qualidade final do produto (vinho), a qual é otimizada pela qualidade da matéria-prima (uva) que, por sua vez, depende das condições edafoclimáticas da região produtiva. Tal preocupação e/ou necessidade provocou esta expansão geográfica da atividade para a Serra do Sudeste e Campanha (no estado do Rio Grande do Sul) e no Vale do São Francisco. Esta última região também se mostrou alvo de investimentos estrangeiros e tornou-se (e ainda se torna) atrativa por apresentar excelentes condições edafoclimáticas, capacidade de duas safras por ano e produção constante no decorrer do ano, além de instalações processadoras de menor porte. / The purpose of this work is to identify which locational variables influenced the decision made by producers from the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), main viticulturist state in Brasil, to expand investments on the wine industry. There was a movement of territorial expansion of wine production to new regions in RS (Serra do Sudeste and Campanha) and to Vale do São Francisco, in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco, regions in which he grape agriculture hadrit started yet. The direct-interview with viticulturists was the main source of information used by this work. This research embraced 73,3% of the producers investing in those new regions, and it was conducted during December/2005, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, and January/2006, in Vale do São Francisco. Descriptive statistic has been applied to summarize the data obtained with the interviews, due to qualitative variables representing most of the questions. The main hypothesis of this work suggests that in the agroindustry, variables involving raw material (quality, supplier) are the main factors in making the decision as to production area. A review of Bowersox Theory (1978) associated with the theory of locational factors was employed as theoretical referential. As for results, it was possible to validate that Brazilian viticulture was conditioned to the place distribution of productive resources, standing out the following factors: edaphoclimatics, raw material quality, manager behavior and land availability. Thus, the research revealed that companies have been concerned regarding the quality of the final product (wine), which is optimized through raw material quality (grape) that depends on edaphoclimatic conditions of the productive area. Indeed, the need to achieve a higher level of quality forced the viticulture to expand its production area to Serra do Sudeste and Campanha (RS) and Vale do São Francisco, which has recently turned into an attractive area to foreign investment, because of its excellent edaphoclimatic conditions, two harvests a year, continuous output year round and a small agroindustry.

The study of location has a long and extensive history. As this area of study has evolved, there has been an increased recognition of the challenges and the many significant external factors, driven by the changes of trends and criteria on location decisions. Whether it is the world economy, technology and environment issues, and it has affected the existing models used in production location decision.    The primary aim of this thesis was to review the broad base of literature of production location decision, especially on models and factors concerning the manufacturing and supply chain area. The thesis also uncovers previous research that has examined the current status concerning models and factors used in production localisation decision.   Following a brief quantitative analysis of the research area development, the project applied mainly a qualitative approach to the study. Literature databases, literature reviews and case study reports were used as data sources. Literature reviews were used as base for the description, explanation, exploration and correlation analyses within the study.   Based on existing literature, this thesis presents a framework to categorise the existing location models and factors. The framework presents the used models and factors in production location decisions. Three industrial case study reports (from master thesis projects from Väderstad, Alfdex and IKEA) were gathered and used to examine the researchers’ own synthetic framework and further explore the research questions. The result is summarized in the framework that can lead users to understand the current status and the trend concerning the models and factors used in production location decision.     Keywords: Location decision, Production location, Location models and Location factors, Models and actors categorization.

Analýza lokalizačních strategií vybraných maloobchodních řetězců v Praze ABSTRACT This thesis explores the spacial distribution of retail chains within Prague; concentrating on 1) spatial patterns and retail distribution 2) transport accessibility within the vicinity of the store and 3) their proximity to food units. I have discussed the conditions that have shaped the changing face of retail to what it is today. Spatial configuration strategies were used to analyse the distribution of the retail environment. Following this, analysis was conducted at the levels of group, category and individual chains. The results showed retail in Prague was concentrated. However, significant differences were observed within categories and chains. Although food unit coverage is good throughout the city, pockets of areas exist that are not served by a particular store within a preferential distance. Keywords: location strategies, spatial patterns, retail, average nearest neighbor, availability of food outlets

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a significant source of capital for economic growth in developing countries. The increasing financial links across countries, especially between industrial and developing countries have been associated with the liberalization of international financial markets. Moreover, globalization in production, due to technological innovations in communications and transport coupled with better policies in developing countries, are often considered to be the primary forces that drove globalization and foreign direct investment in the 1990s and recent times. The literature on FDI can be categorised into three main groups: the first group investigates the effect of FDI on macroeconomic indicators, such as economic growth, exchange rate, rate of inflation, balance of payments, and rate of unemployment. The second group examines the impact of FDI on different factors such as technology transfer to recipient countries, management practices by national firms, and labour skill and productivities in hosting countries. The third group focuses on the characteristics of FDI and the driving forces for its inflows and outflows to different countries. This research focuses on the latter strand thereby enabling an investigation of the location characteristics of MNEs location decision in the banking sector. The main aim of this thesis is to examine and analyse FDI location characteristics in the Ghanaian banking sector. This has been achieved by making use of both qualitative and quantitative data series’ to ascertain whether the major location factors are the characteristics/determinants of MNEs location decision in relation to a specific industry (banking) and a specific country (Ghana). Using a multimethod approach, the findings of this thesis reveal that political and legal factors are very significant, followed by macroeconomic policy factors and infrastructure factors. Market factors and labour market factors which have been found in previous studies (Lall 2001; Asiedu; 2003; Dunning 2004; Helpman; 2006 and Felbermayr et al. 2011) to be important determinants of FDI inflows have been found in this thesis to be the least important factors for MNEs’ location decision in relation to FDI inflows to Ghana.

Background: This paper focuses on firm relocation for SMEs. A process that due to changing requirements for businesses as well as changing customer needs is a very contemporary issue. Municipalities in both Sweden and the Netherlands have seen that businesses are moving away to the larger regions, mainly due to favourable business location factors in these areas. Over 20% of businesses have considered relocating in the near future. Current literature mainly focuses on business perspectives and specific industries. Research on this topic from the municipality perspective will provide new insights on the topic of relocations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how and where municipalities can increase their influence in the relocation process in order to increase the relocation of more small and medium sized businesses to their regions. Method: This thesis makes use of a multiple case study approach, while conducting semi-structured interviews with a wide variety of SMEs from different industries that have moved in the past five years. A qualitative study will be used to research the topic, and to create a theory that can be used be municipalities on how to influence relocating SMEs. The gathered data was researched using a thematic content analysis. Conclusion: Results show that municipalities are able to increase their influence on the relocation process in several ways. Firstly, by being proactive when it comes to location drivers, ensuring that their current businesses do not leave. Proactive information provision through several channels to the SMEs that are considering relocation can positively influence relocation. Lastly municipality politics has a clear influence on relocations as it can help keep businesses embedded in their current regions. Or stimulate businesses from outside a region to relocate due to creating favourable regional characteristics.

Der ambulante Versorgungssektor hat in den letzten Jahren einen strukturellen Wandel der Angebotsformen hin zu Kooperationsmodellen erfahren. Ein Beispiel dafür sind Medizinischen Versorgungszentren (MVZ). MVZ sind auf städtische Gebiete konzentriert. Welche Kriterien für die Ansiedlung von MVZ entscheidend sind und inwiefern sie die ambulante Versorgungsstruktur beein-flussen, ist bisher nicht umfassend wissenschaftlich untersucht worden. Im Rahmen der Studie wurden Standortfaktoren von MVZ, deren raum-zeitliche Ausbreitung und ihr Einfluss auf die Sicherstellung der ambulanten Versorgung untersucht. Als Untersuchungsgebiet dient Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Es wurde ein mehrstufiger Analyseansatz umgesetzt, der aus qualitativen und quantitativen Methoden besteht: einer systematischen Literaturrecherche, einer Bestandsanalyse inklusive einer Erreichbarkeitsmodellierung, einer GIS-gestützten Analyse der Standortfaktoren, einer Analyse raum-zeitlicher Ausbreitungsmuster, einer Ärztebefragung sowie Experteninterviews. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass auch in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern eine verstärkte Ansiedlung von MVZ in Städten stattfindet, jedoch im Laufe der Zeit zunehmend dezentrale Regionen gewählt werden. Dabei wurde in raum-zeitlicher Hinsicht eine signifikante Zunahme an MVZ in der Nähe zu Mittelzentren nachgewiesen. Die Standortanalyse konnte belegen, dass bei der Ansiedlung von MVZ weiche personenbezogene und harte Standortfaktoren entscheidend sind. Die Auswertungen von Behandlungsfällen und Bedarfsplanungsanteilen konnte aufzeigen, dass der Einfluss von MVZ auf die Sicherstellung in mittel-/großstädtischen Regionen am geringsten ist, während er mit zunehmender Ländlichkeit steigt. Jedoch wurde anhand der Ärztebefragung eine reduzierte Arbeits-stundenzahl für MVZ-Ärzte nachgewiesen. Insgesamt konnte die Studie den Mehrwert eines mehrstufigen Analyseansatzes sowie die Notwendigkeit der weiterführenden Forschung und der Bedeutung von MVZ im Bundesland aufzeigen. / The outpatient care sector has experienced changes of the supply structure in recent years towards cooperation models. One example of this are Medical Care Centres (MVZ). MVZs are concentrated in urban areas. Which criteria are crucial for the settlement of MVZs and how this form of operation influences the structure of outpatient care has not yet been scientifically investigated. The study therefore aimed to identify location factors, to analyse their spatio-temporal spread and to examine their influence on the assurance of outpatient care. The analyses were performed using the example of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. A multi-level analysis approach was implemented, consisting of various qualitative and quantitative methods: a systematic literature research, an analysis of the existing situation including accessibility modelling, a GIS-based analysis of location factors, an analysis of spatio-temporal dispersion patterns, a survey of doctors as well as expert interviews. The results of the study show that in the study area, MVZs are more frequently located in towns and cities, but that decentralised regions are increasingly being chosen over time. In this context, a significant increase in MVZ locations in the vicinity of medium-sized centres was demonstrated in spatial-temporal respect. The location analysis was able to show that soft person-related and hard location factors play a significant role in the settlement of MVZs. The evaluations of treatment cases and demand planning proportions were able to demonstrate that the influence of MVZs on ensuring outpatient care is lowest in medium-sized/large urban regions, while there is an increasing influence with greater rurality. However, a reduced number of working hours for MVZ physicians was demonstrated based on the physician survey. Overall, the study was able to show the added value of a multi-level analysis approach as well as the need for further research and the relevance of MVZs in the federal state.