Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The research had two major objectives: examining the implications of the growing foreign ownership in the London market for the way this market operates and for the competitive position of London as a leading global centre. The shares of foreign firms in the City have been growing continuously, to reach a point in which the competitive position of London as a leading centre for financial services is based largely on foreign ownership. The study sought to gain insights into the reasons for this situation, and to draw their implications for the continuous vitality of London as a leading global centre, and for the competitiveness of British-owned insurance firms; examining the London Market as a cluster of related business activities and the value of local linkages between firms for their competitive performance in London and elsewhere. In this context, the study sought to identify the major factors that may threaten the continuing survival and success of this cluster. It also sought to understand the linkages of this London cluster with global financial centres elsewhere and to assess the value of linkages that take place at different geographic levels for the competitive performance of London firms and the London market as a whole. Main Topics:The dataset comprises a number of sections: general characteristics of firms – documents areas of specialisation, ownership structure, size, age, etc.; the competitive position of firms – inquires regarding the operating routines of the organisation and their impact on its competitive position. More specifically, data refer to revenue distribution, local institutional influences, labour practices, firms’ perceptions of the internal and external determinants of their competitive performance; the operation of firms in the London market – this section gathers data on the linkages of firms with clients, suppliers, other insurance companies and...