LARGE ENTERPRISE BRANCHES: THE CASE OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Importance of largest enterprises is steadily augmenting. In contrast to small-and middle-sized firms, their large counterparts influence individual territorial economies with much higher intensity. The Czech Republic, which represents an object of the article, is a country, where big companies traditionally played a relevant role. While headquarters of large enterprises have been subject to several solid analyses, an attention devoted to their first-tier affiliates is far from sufficient. In order to find meaningful similarities among location factors of first-tier affiliates of one hundred largest enterprises in the country, cluster analysis proved to be useful. Generally, attitudes of managements responsible for the location of first-tier affiliates turned out to be driven largely by pragmatism as a strategy to succeed in contemporary turbulent socioeconomic environment. The paper contributes to filling mainly in informational gaps.