PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2018, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (8): 1096-1105.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2018.08.009

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Spatial structure of urban network based on Chinese A-share listed medicine enterprise network

Yaling YE1(), Bofei YANG2, Ziyun HE2, Beini ZENG2, Fenghua PAN2,*(), Cheng FANG2   

  1. 1. School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China
    2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Environmental Remote Sensing and Digital Cities, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
  • Received:2017-09-02 Revised:2017-12-21 Online:2018-09-04 Published:2018-09-04
  • Contact: Fenghua PAN E-mail:yeyaling@pku.edu.cn;panfenghua@bnu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41871157;Major Program of National Social Science Fund of China, No.14ZDA035

Abstract:

Urban network research based on a specific type of industry has unique value and is essential for understanding the industrial pattern and urban function. Using the data of headquarters and branches of the Chinese A-share listed medicine enterprises, this article analyzes the characteristics of urban networks shaped by these firms. The results show that: (1) Most of the headquarters of medicine enterprises are concentrated in the coastal economic regions, including the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region. Wuhan, Beijing, and Hangzhou are the important nodes in the network. (2) Five urban clusters stand out in the urban networks shaped by Chinese medicine enterprises. Moreover, the connectivity values in urban networks are significantly different, which are mainly formed by hierarchical diffusion and proximity diffusion, with strong connections between the developed city pairs and their surrounding cities. (3) Developed cities generally have high power and influence in the network. Meanwhile, some small or medium-sized cities with abundant resources have also played an important role in the network. (4) China's medicine industry is still in the early stages of internationalization. Only a few cities, such as Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Kunming, and Tianjin, have strong international connections. (5) The spatial structures of urban networks vary greatly among different subsectors of medicine enterprises, while Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and other major cities play a central role in all subnetworks.

Key words: medicine enterprise, urban network, spatial structure, publicly listed firm, firm network, China