Business Reorganization and the Development of Corporate Services in Metropolitan Areas

This paper, based on British evidence, examines the impact of business reorganization on service activities in large metropolitan areas. Employment in head offices is declining, and growing head office demands for business services are being supplied by local specialist service firms. As they grow, large metropolitan areas are increasingly becoming the base for higher order managerial, business service and financial services, with routine administration being relocated to their hinterland. In addition, the corporate service complex in large metropolitan areas is more open and fragmented than is usually recognized, with financial services responding to their own frequently international dynamic.