Regional Patterns of Organizational Dominance: 1955–1975*

The ecological notion of metropolitan dominance is explored through the examination of a hierarchy of urban places. This hierarchy is based on organizational bases rather than functional characteristics as has been the case in most past research. This approach is preferable to the more traditional method in that organizational bases are more easily measured, and they offer an observable medium through which dominance is exercised. The hierarchy of metropolitan areas is perceived as comprising a social network, with influence accruing to a metropolis on the basis of its relationships with all other places in the system. The data are aggregated to the regional level in order to facilitate comparisons, and it is observed that power is becoming more diffuse spatially as it becomes more concentrated organizationally. Furthermore, the regional structure of the system of influence relations is being altered as the sunbelt metropolitan areas become more powerful. Other changes are found in the nature of the influence exercised by the growing urban areas of the southern and western regions. The data on organizational bases of dominance consist of corporate linkages reflecting the intraorganizational division of labor. The corporations themselves are drawn from the group of industrial corporations listed on the American Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange in either 1955 or 1975.