The ability of cities to operate in global networks is usually measured according to
their central position within multinational firm linkages. These measures are often
used at the interurban level and neglect the intraurban processes of multiplier
effects. The present study demonstrates that this affects the measurement of city
centrality in business networks. Intraurban capabilities of interaction are
considered in the measurement of interurban indices. The study is based on
hypothetical networks at a micro level between long-range links and it mobilises
processes as agglomeration economies, social capital developments and transaction
costs. These processes at the intraurban level strengthen the efficiency of
interurban linkages. It is suggested that the indices used to measure city centrality
should include these local effects. Applied to a small sample of six firm networks,
the methodology shows advantages for emerging large metropolises, but insufficient
local effects for specialised clusters. The multilevel approach offers improved
perspectives for the comparison of city centralities.
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