World Cities and the Limits to Global Control: A Case Study of Executive Search Firms in Europe’s Leading Cities* MARK BOYLE, ALLAN FINDLAY, EVA LELIEVRE AND RONAN PADDISON Introduction zyxwv Over a decade has now elapsed since Friedmann and Wolff (1982) first proposed the world city thesis. Writing within the context of the rise of marxist approaches within urban geography (Harvey, 1973; Castells, 1977), Friedmann and Wolff argued that the contemporary character of western cities cannot be understood outwith the latest period of restructuring of capitalist ‘production’. More specifically, for both authors, the fundamental process implicated in the shaping of contemporary urban fortunes is the internationalization of capital (see also Friedmann, 1986; 1995). Whilst developing their account through the notion of the ‘new international division of labour’, it is clear that Friedmann and Wolff are interested in a broader collection of international processes which go beyond the conventional usage of this concept derived from Frobel et zyxwvut al. (1980). The internationalization of capital refers not only to the relocation of low value-added manufacturing to low wage regions, but to all forms of international expansion of production capacity, service functions and now finance capital and portfolio investment. Having a variety of consequences for cities at different tiers in the urban hierarchy, one of the most visible impacts of this process has been the formation of world cities; key decision-making centres from which international capital flows are controlled (Cohen, 1981). In a series of recent publications, Saskia Sassen (1991; 1994; 1995a; and 1995b) has sought to advance the world city thesis through the development of the concept of global command capability. In advancing this concept, Sassen is attempting to provide an insight into why multinational headquarters are clustering around a number of key world cities. Sassen characterizes the contemporary space economy as being subjected to strong forces of both dispersal and centralization. The internationalization of production and service functions within firms, and within the financial markets, is creating a deconcentration of economic activity. It is simultaneously, however, generating immense pressure for strong centralized control and management. It is this pressure that leads to a new locational dynamic for company headquarters and thus to the formation of global cities. zyxwvut * Acknowledgements go to the DATAR Research Institute, Paris, which provided funding for the research upon which this paper is based. We are also grateful to Neil Cuthbertson, who provided some very useful comments on zyxwvuts an earlier draft of this paper. zyxwvu 0 Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 19%. Published by Blackwell Publishers, z 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 IJF, UK and 238 Main Street, Cambridge. MA 02142, USA.