Abstract
In this paper, a satisfaction structure model of industrial locations is developed to analyze the survey data accumulated from plant managers in Hokkaido. Recently, in Japan the new plant constructions have decreased because of an economic recession and globalization. It is important for the regional economy and employment that the plants keep operating and don't close down. To achieve this, the satisfaction of plant operating should be kept and increased in the area. This paper researches the satisfied factors of plant operating and the non-satisfied factors as indicated by plant managers in Hokkaido, and develops a satisfaction structure model of the industrial locations using Structural Equation Modeling. Major findings of the analysis of the satisfaction structure model of industrial locations in Hokkaido are summarized as follows :
(1) The factors that have the strong relations to the satisfaction of industrial locations are “Traffic (access, cost)”, “Labor (quality, cost)”, and “Quality of life”. Above all, the physical distribution access is the most important factor.
(2) The strongest factor of changing the past three-year's satisfaction of industrial locations is “Traffic
JEL classification : R11, R30, R38, R58
