An Investigation in Terms of Industrial Geography: Kayseri Organized Industrial Zone

Abstract

Throughout history, the city of Kayseri has played an important role in the commercial and economic activities of Anatolia. Before the Republic, the city's manufacturing activities were based on handicraft products. Public investments made in the early years of the Republic changed the city's production methods and diversity. Starting in the 1960s, the private sector began to play a role in the city's industrialization alongside the public sector. Developments in industrialization in the last quarter of the 20th century laid the foundation for the establishment of an organized industrial zone (OSB) in the city, and the Kayseri OSB began operations in 1980. The study aims to examine the effects of the Kayseri OSB from a geographical perspective. A phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used in the study. A semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers was applied to 50 companies operating in the Kayseri OSB, and data were collected. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis, one of the qualitative data analysis methods, and the research findings were grouped under five main dimensions. These are “reasons for being in the OSB,” “the impact of the OSB on the company,” “problems faced by companies in the OSB,” “expectations from OSB management,” and “the impact of the OSB on the city of Kayseri.” According to the study's findings, it was concluded that the Kayseri OSB affects the city not only economically but also socially and spatially.