We will begin by analysing the non-farm business sales integration level:
• The non-farm business size influences its forward integration level in all the study
towns;
• The type of business regarding activity sectors influences the sales integration level
in every town but Vila Real;
• The type of has no influence in towns like Vila Real, Lixa, and Esposende; the same
happens as to the location of firms in Lixa, and Esposende and the
respondent’s/manager’s origin in Vila Real, Mirandela and Esposende; and
• As to the variable number of years at this address it only influences non-farm
business sales integration level in Esposende.
We shall now look into the non-farm business purchases integration level:
• The firm size according to the number of WTE workers does not influence in any
way the purchases local integration level in this type of firm except in Esposende,
when the concelho is considered an analysis territorial unit. The same applies to the
variable type of firm according to activity sectors in the cases of Mirandela, Vila
Real, and Esposende. This variable influences this kind of firm purchases local
integration in Tavira, Silves, and Lixa;
• The type of organization influences firms purchases integration level in every town
but Tavira and Esposende. The location of firm only influences the purchases
integration pattern in Vila Real. A similar situation occurs with the manager’s origin
in Lixa;
• Finally, the number of years at the address does not influence in anyway the
purchases local integration level.
SECTORAL ANALYSIS
This chapter presents a sectorial analysis regarding the various activities according to
each of the studied towns. For each town a table concerning local and broad integration
is presented in what concerns sales and purchase. The tables also contain an indication
about the relative weight of each activity sector in terms of the number of business firms
and of the volume of sales and purchase.
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