Abstract
This article offers a quantitative model for site selection by high technology manufacturing firms. In the past, site selection studies have usually been qualitative in nature, and very subjective. This is an attempt to introduce a more objective quantitative approach. The site selection factors most important to high technology manufacturing firms were identified, ranked and weighted based on a US Joint Economic Committe survey of such firms. The eight most important factors were: the availability of technical and professional workers, labor costs, tax climate, academic institutions, cost of living, transportation for people, and access to markets. Demographic data on these factors were collected and analyzed for 32 developing high technology areas in the United States. By using the quantitative model, a score was developed for each area, allowing them to be ranked as R & D manufacturing environments. This model should prove a useful tool for both regional planners and high-tech companies seeking to relocate.
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Davies, B.R., Lazniarz, J.M. A site selection model for high technology manufacturing firms in the United States. Scientometrics 8, 103–116 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02025224
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02025224