Spatial Patterns of Production Linkages in the Context of Europe's Small Towns: How Are Rural Firms Linked to the Local Economy?

Abstract

Courtney P., Lépicier D. and Schmitt B. Spatial patterns of production linkages in the context of Europe's small towns: how are rural firms linked to the local economy?, Regional Studies. Small towns have received increasing attention from policy-makers aiming to stimulate rural development through territorial approaches. However, it cannot be assumed that fostering local business growth will help generate local economic development either through economies of agglomeration or through spillover effects into surrounding locales. The paper examines the spatial economic behaviour of firms located in and around 30 towns across five European countries. It tests a number of hypotheses regarding the influence of various characteristics on the strength of local economic integration: organizational characteristics, local contextual characteristics, and characteristics of the potential links between the firm and local markets. Findings reveal that the more ‘traditional’ and less productive rural firms exhibit stronger ties to their locality and the size of the local intermediate goods market influences the extent to which firms source locally. Differences in terms of country, area and town size highlight the importance of local contexts in explaining patterns of spatial economic behaviour. Courtney P., Lépicier D. et Schmitt B. Les relations économiques inter-enterprises dans les petites villes européennes: quelle est l'intégration économique locale des firms rurales?, Regional Studies. La question du rôle des bourgs et petites villes dans le développement rural est souvent placée au coeur de certaines politiques territoriales. On peut cependant se demander si la stimulation de la croissance de l'activité économique locale se traduit toujours par un regain de croissance économique locale à travers le jeu des économies d'agglomération ou au travers d'effets de spillovers locaux. Le présent article examine le comportement économique spatial de firmes localisées dans 30 petites villes et leur territoire d'influence de 5 pays européens. Les hypothèses testées relèvent de trois registres permettant d'expliquer l'intensité du degré d'intégration économique locale des achats d'inputs et des ventes d'outputs des firmes. On examine donc conjointement le rôle des caractéristiques individuelles des firmes et des entrepreneurs, celui des caractéristiques du contexte local dans lequel sont insérées les firmes et, celui de la nature des liens que la firme peut nouer avec son environnement économique local au travers des marchés locaux de biens intermédiaires, finaux et du travail. On montre ainsi que les entreprises rurales les plus ‘traditionnelles’ et les moins productives développent un comportement très localement centré, c'est-à-dire concentrent leurs liens économiques tant de ventes que d'achats sur les territoires étudiés. De même, la taille du marché local de biens intermédiaires nécessaires au fonctionnement de l'entreprise influence fortement son degré d'intégration économique locale. Enfin, les différences entre pays, taille ...

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“…However, these enterprises may source locally to reduce their transaction costs or to stay loyal to local suppliers and networks to the detriment of purchasing costs. Courtney et al (2008) found that the more traditional the firm is (ie. smaller, older, lower labour productivity) the more strongly integrated into the local economy.…”

“…According to Courtney et al (2008) the sectorial profile of the enterprise is decisive for its spatial behaviour. While firms belonging to construction or producer service sectors show strong connectivity to local (input) markets, manufacturing firms are more often linked to the wider economy, their partners come frequently from the regional markets and they often sell their products in the regional or international economy.…”

Exploration of Localness in the Context of Economic Base: Accessing Evidence From Greek Prefectures

“…Furthermore, several endogenous and exogenous factors have resulted in the uneven development of rural economies throughout Europe, leading not only to disparities, but also to the decline of small and medium towns as thriving economic and service centers (Courtney et al . ).…”

“…Furthermore, several endogenous and exogenous factors have resulted in the uneven development of rural economies throughout Europe, leading not only to disparities, but also to the decline of small and medium towns as thriving economic and service centers (Courtney et al 2009). This is because the answer to globalization and growing global trade is local development based on the formation of local production networks, exchange, and cooperation at a local level, as well as the general efficiency of the local development environment (Cabus 2001;Christofakis & Tsampra 2012).…”