Various types of manufacturing firms located in rural municipalities are identified in this paper, and we determine the intensity of their economic linkages at the local and regional levels. We also examine the factors affecting the intensity of local/regional sourcing and purchasing. Due to the unavailability of detailed economic data at the municipal level, our research draws on a case study of 26 rural manufacturing small/medium-sized enterprises located in the Zlín Region in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. As a highly industrialised region, Zlín should theoretically provide a very favourable environment for the development of local/regional productive linkages of rural manufacturing firms. Several non-parametric tests have been employed to test the effects of firm size, age, industry and location, on the intensity of local and regional purchasing/sourcing. We found the most common firms are those that purchase and sell mostly on a regional (NUTS3) level rather than on the local level. Small firms source and sell more locally than larger firms. Effects of the firm age, industry and location, on the intensity of local/regional sourcing and purchasing were not confirmed.

The aim of this article is to identify the most important mechanisms of rural industrial development in the context of a highly industrialized peripheral region in Central Europe. We ask if the development of rural manufacturing firms is primarily based on the activity and skills of local entrepreneurs, or whether it is driven by commercial counter-urbanization or cost-motivated inflow of (foreign direct) investment from other regions. Empirical results are based on the case study of the highly industrialized peripheral Zlín Region in Czechia. We have conducted 26 interviews with the company managers in rural municipalities of the Zlín Region. The growth of rural manufacturing firms is path-dependent, usually based on pre-existing economic activities or skills in the same or technologically related local industries. Neither commercial counter-urbanization nor inflow of foreign direct investment played a major role in the development of manufacturing firms in rural municipalities of the Zlín Region.

We aimed to explain the spatial distribution of information and communication technology (ICT) firms in the city of Ostrava as an example of a medium-sized, shrinking, polycentric industrial city. The primary research question was to what extent micro-geographic location factors affect the current spatial clustering of ICT firms in polycentric cities characteristic by relatively weak urbanization economies and mostly routine character of ICT activities. We analyse and test the effects of the urban form at the level of urban blocks and individual buildings (considering their height, technical condition, age and dominant function) on the clustering of ICT firms of various sizes and ownership statuses. The inquiry was based on a detailed field mapping (using ArcGIS Collector) of ICT firms and physical/functional characteristics of the buildings and their immediate surroundings. ICT firms are significantly spatially concentrated in the historic city centre and inner city. Spatial patterns of ICT firms focused on less knowledge-intensive, routine and/or lower value-added functions do not differ fundamentally from innovative firms developing new products. Preference of denser, walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods in urban cores/inner cities can be found in the group of firms focusing on routine functions: rather for larger than for smaller firms and domestic than foreign-owned firms.

Peripheral regions are localities that are characterized by remoteness from core areas, which are usually metropolitan regions. The peripheral regions in developed countries are characterized by a low density of companies. The economic base of the companies in the peripheral regions are often based on traditional industries or industries dependent on natural resources. This work focuses on the development of the industry in the district Jeseník. The aim of the paper is to identify the trajectories of industrial development (‘path development’) in the peripheral region of the Czech Republic and their impact on local customer linkages of local industrial companies. We analyse whether the most important companies in the manufacturing industry are historically tied to local markets, or they are connected to foreign markets. From a methodological point it is the case study, which is based on the collection of secondary statistical data. We found that in district Jeseník there are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, which are stable in territory and embeddedness. The economic focus of the companies is the metal industry, mineral processing, and the textile industry. The most frequently identified trajectory of industrial development in the district Jeseník is the path extension. Foreign customer linkages were identified for traditional companies.