Locational Characteristics of Firms in the Business Service Industry in Airport Economic Zones: Case of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Abstract

Airports are important components in urban economies. With the rapid growth in civil aviation, airport economic zones (AEZs) have been established in China since the 199s, attracting airport-related firms. However, hitherto, research on AEZs remains scarce, notably the locational characteristics of firms in the business service industry. To fill in this gap, this paper uses the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in China as the case study to explore the locational characteristics of firms from the business service industry. First, data regarding the locational information of firms in the business service industry in the Hongqiao AEZ are collected. Second, an image of the Hongqiao AEZ is overlaid with 5×5 m grid cells using geographical information system (GIS). Then, data characteristics are taken into consideration, and the zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model is used to analyze location characteristics based on the grid cells. The results show that the factors that affect the locational decisions of domestic and foreign firms are significantly different; nevertheless, although the firms are established within the AEZ, it is found that travel time to the city center remains the pivotal factor in the locational decisions of both domestic and foreign firms.