Business Footprints-Global Office Locations 2011

Business Footprints-Global Office Locations 2011

The liberalisation and globalisation of trade have resulted in significant changes in the locations from which corporates operate around the world and, indeed, in the international reach of their office presence. This has substantially increased the number of international businesses occupying office space in many markets. While cities such as New York and London have a long history as international centres for finance and business, in more recent years other countries and cities, including a number of emerging markets, have also established an international reputation. While this may be regarded as part of a wider set of economic and corporate processes, equally the reasons for specific location decisions, and their consequences for different markets, can be extremely diverse.

At a general level, the pattern of where companies choose to locate their offices reflects a desire to maximise market coverage and exploit business opportunities, with clusters in particular business sectors becoming increasingly common. But where have companies sought to expand their businesses?Which countries and cities are favoured office locations and why? What differences in international expansion do we see between business sectors for international businesses? Do larger companies necessarily have a more extensive geographic office presence?