THE LOCATION PROCESSES OF INDUSTRIAL-RESEARCH LABORATORIES

This paper examines the location of industrial research laboratories in order to make inferences about the location decision process. Utilizing data gathered from Industrial Research Laboratories of the United States, the analysis of spatial point patterns reveals that labs are clustered within roughly equivalent local environments leading to the conclusion that labs are imitating each other. The hypothesis is that uncertainty about environmental hospitality leads to the observed clustering behavior resulting in location patterns that do not reflect actual constraints or preferences. © 1991 Springer-Verlag.