What places bait investments? Urban management stance

Abstract There are only little doubts that territorial competition related to attracting new investments is getting increasingly severe. This competition is closely connected with the wide spectrum of location factors that bear economic as well as social and environmental dimensions. While some of these factors are barely manageable, majority of them can be actively shaped via policies of different kinds and scales. Not surprisingly, intense differentiation applying to both time and spatial perspectives is concomitant to afore mentioned factors. The main objective of this article consists in the analysis and assessment of location factors and mechanisms offered by the managements of Czech towns to potential investors. At the same time, we will examine which location factors and mechanisms these towns regard as important for individual investors. As it turned out, the investment environment in Czechia cannot be considered entirely standard from international perspective, which subsequently rises transaction costs involved in investment location. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • In nearly one half of investigated Czech towns, there are no systemic standardized procedures how to deal with a new investor. • There are distinct differences between average evaluations of location factors towns consider as important for investment preferences and average evaluations of location factors provided by towns to investors. • When attracting new investors, towns rely primarily on their own endogenous activities. Individual towns should modify their communication with investors during covid/post-covid times.