Analysis of Spatial Distribution of Business Entities in Slovenia

The article presents the spatial distribution of business entities in Slovenia from locations in business zones and the areas of community, commerce and business services to work at home. The study uses the comparative method to determine their size, location and building typology. It was concluded that the structure is quite diversified and that most of the entities are located in residential areas. This field of study requires a further comprehensive treatment and regulation.

The article presents the spatial distribution of business entities in Sloveniafrom locations in business zones and the areas of community, commerce and business services to work at home. The study uses the comparative method to determine their size, location and building typology. It was concluded that the structure is quite diversified and that most of the entities are located in residential areas. This field of study requires a further comprehensive treatment and regulation.

gospodarski subjekti namjena prostora lokacija tipologija zgrada Slovenija
After the independence in the early 1990s, Slovenia shifted from a socialist socio-developmental planning into a democratic system 3 , conditioned by a free market concept, which completely transformed the theory and practice of spatial distribution of activities. Similar to other post-socialist countries 4 , there was a rapid transfer of Western economic models into the newly emerging administrative context that generated a new spatial and developmental reality. The doctrine of supply and demand was well stabilized in the planning process, which ensured the expansion of real estate investments and the realization of a wide range of entrepreneurial initiatives in various locations. In an often too loose understanding of the democratic principleanything anywherethe basic purpose of spatial planning documents and their tendency to realize the strategic goals of spatial development were often neglected.
The real estate market, including the segment of business zones and facilities, operates largely on its own principles, so the spatial distribution of business entities is increasingly becoming the result of marketing rather than spatial planning. This makes us wonder if we still have control over the basic elements of spatial planning, such as a long-term planning institute or the outlined supervision of settlement, infrastructure and economy?
Almost all countries in transition 5 are experiencing this kind of transformation. For decades, individual researchers have been studying the structural changes that result from the implementation of free market models in the context of post-socialist societies. 6 The particular challenges of transition include land privatization 7 , the creation of a competitive real estate market 8 and the unsystematic transformation of the monoculture industry into numerous shopping and business centers. 9 Especially emphasized 10 is the importance of strategic planning, which would fast establish a participatory planning and a formulation of legitimate spatial development in the new socio-political reality.
Despite the socialist legacy of some effective spatial regulatory mechanisms and the implementation of sustainable planning principles 11 , we are facing many challenges in coordinating interests and defining development priorities. The spectrum of business entities is very diverse in terms of activity, number of employees and environmental impacts, and the current business environment is characterized by marked instability and the demand to respond quickly to changing needs for personnel, raw materials, destination of products 12 These challenges are directly related to the location of the business activities, so we are facing new location requirements in the process of spatial distribution of acti-and services. Current requirements in the organization of the work process also include sustainable mobility and the ability to limit environmental impacts. 12 The existing network of both traditional and new business zones and the expansion of various forms of home-based work is a longstanding legacy that is still developing and being commercially active. As such, it presents certain potentials that have not yet been analytically and sufficiently investigated, which is why the article presents an in-depth analysis of business entities in Slovenia.
At the moment, the process of preparing planning documents at local levels leads to sectoral academic bases being only partially done, so in most cases the areas of business entities are not adequately analyzed and therefore, the starting points for the development of settlement areas remain unknown. There is also a lack of input information for the planning of new zones. There are even more uncertainties in creating spatial (urban) conditions for organizing home-based work. We find that the potentials in the field of home-based work and the capacity of business zones are not sufficiently utilized due to incomplete or outdated data.
The purpose of the article is to determine whether business entities normally operate in accordance to their activity sector and the needs of their business (industrial zones, areas of community, commerce and business services or sport, tourism and commerce areas) and whether they reside in an appropriate building typology (non-residential buildings). The purpose of the article is also to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the precise locations of business entities, what is their total size and reach depending on the activity sector? 2. Are the business entities distributed in accordance with the zoned land use? 3. What are the structural characteristics of the spatial distribution of business entities in relation to building typology?
The conclusion presents some open questions regarding the research of business entities and suggestions for further research.

Literature review PreGLed Literature
Given the diversified urban network 13 and dispersed settlement, which also condition the diversified infrastructure system, the existing network of business locations presents both potentials and challenges that offer a wide range of different business conditions. The existing situation in the area of spatial distribution of business entities operating practically throughout the national territory is therefore logical. Chronologically, we can identify three periods that have evidently influenced the development of the existing situation not only in Slovenia but in all countries in the transition from the socialist to the capitalist economic (and social) system: The primary industrialization of the 18 th and 19 th centuries, which mobilized the traditional locations of some of the plants still active today. 14 This period also showed the establishment of efficient transport infrastructure and the quick economic development of numerous Slovenian cities (Ljubljana, Jesenice, Maribor, etc.).
The post-war socialist industrialization, which in the period after 1945, in parallel with the urbanization of space, formed an important part of the existing urban system with a hierarchy of economic and administrative centers 15 , which have more or less remained unchanged. 16 During this period, many industrial plants were introduced 17 , both in the form of monoculture activities and mixed, storage and manufacturing facilities. 18 The post-independence development of business sector was marked by the ownership restructuring and the program reorganization of conventional industrial zones, the additional establishment of new zones and the expansion of home-based work. 19 The end of Yugoslavia in the 1980s also caused an economic crisis in Slovenia (GDP decline, unemployment, etc.), which reached its peak in 1992-93. 20 The former state sector retained only part of its employees after privatization and restructuring, while the rest were employed in the newly created private sector, retired or remained unemployed.
In the first decade after independence, labor market researchers found that many individuals tried themselves in emerging entrepreneurship, found partly upon home-based work in the socialist period 21 . In addition to the already existing manufacturing industry 22 Vadnjal, 1996 activities, freight forwarding, private education and real estate activities 23 ). This process can be proven by the statistics of various databases, which show a significant increase in the number of newly established business entities of different legal forms and self-employed individuals between 1990 and 1995. In the 1990-1995 period, their numbers increased from approx. 25,000 to approx. 57,000, which also results in the spatial dispersal of materialization. This reflected in the expansion of home-based work 24 and/or the establishment of new business zones.
An inter-municipal survey entitled Standards and Criteria for Business Zones and Manufacturing Industry in Slovenia 25 found that 92 new zones were established between 1990-1996. 26 In 2002, an international consortium 27 made a study focusing on how Slovenia could effectively integrate into the international economic environment by establishing competitive zones, and how foreign investors should approach cooperation in setting them up. The study showed that in 1998 alone 154 new zones were established in Slovenia.
Also other business zones researchers have been pointing out the spatial characteristics of the developing network of zones 28 , the need for their typing 29 or the understanding of their hierarchical importance. 30 The researchers were identifying spatial development potentials in terms of attracting direct foreign investment 31 or studying the synergistic effects on a wider region. 32 More recent studies also highlight the issues of legal bases in terms of setting up zones 33 , the challenges of management and promotion 34 , and the visual impact that zones have on urban space and landscape. 35 In 2019, a methodology to record and monitor the situation was established, and a more detailed inventory of the zones was made (480 locations were recorded). Moreover, an application that allows updating of data was introduced.
Less explored in the field of home-based work, in which many activities of the quaternary, tertiary 36 and partly secondary sectors are carried out. The widespread occurrence of home-based work can be justified by numerous economic and sociological reasons. Kos 37 points out that work at home in Slovenia is based on the former socialist practice of informal activity. More recent studies 38 , however, highlight the need for more intensive recognition and regulation.
Traditional capitalist countries face similar challenges. Work at home, in parallel with the development of information technology, is experiencing a real renaissance and generates the need for more effective treatment. In examining the spatial forms of home-based work in England, Holliss 39 even cites the need to introduce a new building typology and the formalization of specific procedures for planning work from home. Felstead and Henseke 40 point out the spatial and psychological consequences that this current form of work has in a wider population.

Metode i Podatci
The study of the spatial distribution of business entities within the physical space was carried out for the entire territory of Slovenia at different spatial levels (national, regional and local). For the analysis of the situation, we used the latest available data for 2018 and 2019, taken from various public records 41 , all of which, except the database of business entities 42 , are publicly available. All the data were applied with a unique identifier and processed with ESRI ArcGIS Desktop 10.6.1. Statistical analyses were performed with Microsoft Excel.
In the first phase of the research, we obtained data on the location (registration address 43 ) of all business entities in Slovenia by linking data from the database of business entities 44 and house number records. 45 The results were presented at the level of municipalities and statistical regions. For the latter we also obtained data on the total number of employees. 46 The data on the location of business entities was then intersected with a generalized 23 Stanovnik et al., 2000 24 Čok, 2004 25 MGD RS, 1996 26 They were located in 51 municipalities and distributed fairly evenly throughout the territory of the Republic of Slovenia. In addition to those already implemented, 96 municipalities planned to establish additional new ones, of which 30 municipalities had already had a known location, 19 known investors and 9 building permits for the new zones. These zones were relatively small, almost half (49%) of them smaller than 5 ha and mostly lacked the possibility of expansion. Besides this, up to twenty companies were located in 47% of the zones. The zones were dominated by manufacturing activity (on the rise were mainly trade and service, metal, electrical and wood industries). The presence of foreign or mixed-ownership companies was negligible. This fact points to a highly responsive approach of local communities and coincides with the period of development of local self-government. The impact of the latter is reflected in the creation of smaller municipalities that partly responded to the current real estate market needs for business activities. zoned land use, which holds a list of detailed zoned land uses from all valid municipal spatial planning documents in the Slovenian territory 47 , with data on the use of buildings 48 and data on their primary activity gathered in the standard classification of activities. 49 We later grouped them by activity sector 50 on the basis of their activity classification as stated in the standard activity classification: − primary sector (agriculture, hunting, forestry, fisheries, mining, oil and gas), − secondary sector (productionprocessing and construction), − tertiary sector (all services of non-general interest, including information and communication technologies, transport, trade, tourism) and − quaternary sector (services of general interest 51 : public administration, healthcare, judiciary, culture, education, science, social welfare).
Furthermore, we particularly examined business entities located in 428 registered business zones. 52 The result of the data crosssection shows all business entities 53 in business zones and in individual categories of zoned land use. 54 In addition, we were able to calculate their number and percentage by activity sectors and the categories of zoned land use.
In the last phase of the research we examined the distribution of business entities accord-   ing to the building typology for which we obtained data from the land register. 55 All buildings were divided into residential and nonresidential. Based on related data we later calculated the number and percentage of business entities depending on the activity sector in specific building typology.
The results of all the analyses are further qualitatively evaluated by: a) descriptive method based on the reviewed literature and current studies in the field of business entities research, and b) our own expertise obtained from the preparation of municipal spatial plans for Slovenian municipalities, court assessments, academic backgrounds and local, regional and country level land use research. 56

resuLts reZuLtati
The spatial distribution of business entities in Slovenia shows a strong centralization in urban municipalities, especially in the Central Slovenia and Slovenian capital city Ljubljana. Business entities are distributed in all Slovenian municipalities, but their number is significantly smaller than in city municipalities (Fig. 1).
Differences in the distribution of business entities also exist between statistical regions. The Central Slovenia has a good third of all business entities (33.2%) and it is followed by the Drava Region (13.7%), the Sava Region (11.1%) and the Upper Carniola (9.9%. The smallest proportion of entities is present in the Central Sava Region (1.9%). The detailed overview of the data (Table I) shows that all statistical regions together employ about 30% of the population. The exception is the Central Slovenia, which employs more than 50% of the population, excluding workplaces and daily commuters from other statistical regions. 57 • Business Entities According to the Zoned Land Use -The results of the research, which as such was executed in Slovenia for the first time, showed the current spatial distribution of business entities. Despite the prediction that entities would be in different land use categories, the result of the analysis showed even greater dispersion than expected. 257,032 business entities (Table II) were registered in 2019 58 and they can be found in all land use categories. 59 We discovered that more than a half of all the entities are located within residential areas (S=134,965 or 52.5%; Fig. 2). In second place are the areas of community, commerce and business services (C=80,987, or 31.5%), and only in third place we can find those business entities that are located within the areas of industry and manufacturing (I=17,521 or 6.8%). The areas of dispersed settlement represent a significant share as well (A=10,839 or 4.2%). Business entities in other categories, with the exception of sport, tourism and commerce areas (B=5,902 or 2.3%) and agricultural land (K= 3,585 or 1.4%), represent less than 1% of all business entities.
Based on our own experience with the development of municipal spatial plans [OPN] 60 , the situation can be understood as a consequence of rather loose provisions of spatial implementation conditions. For example, in residential areas and dispersed settlements, the implementation of other, non-residential activities 61 such as religious activities, activities of museums, libraries, restaurants, health care and even trade is allowed. Nevertheless, the overall distribution of business entities in residential and dispersed settlement areas is very surprising.
An additional analysis of the distribution of business entities by activity sector (Table III) showed that tertiary activities are dominant among all sectors with a high percentage of 70.2%. More than a half of these tertiary activities (53.3%) are in residential areas. Other tertiary activities are also present in the areas of community, commerce and business services (30.8%) and with a rather high percentage (6.7%) can be found also in industry and manufacturing areas and dispersed settlement areas (3.8%). Regarding the number and share, tertiary activities are followed by quaternary activities (18.4%), which are also predominantly located in residential areas (47.8%) and in the areas of community, commerce and business services (42.7%). They are less present in industry and manufacturing areas (3.1%) and dispersed settlement areas (2.8%). The result is not surprising, since tertiary activities include all services (such as hairdressers, bars and even vulcanization services) and trade, so their presence in residential areas is understandable. In any  case, we expected a higher share of quaternary activities in the areas of community, commerce and business services in terms of zoned land use. The result can be attributed to the municipal spatial plans, as they, in accordance with the legislation 62 , allow a broader definition of zoned land use. This in reality means that various categories of detailed zoned land use determine other activities as well.

• Business Entities and Business Zones -
The reasons for the situation, demonstrated also by the results of secondary and primary sector, cannot be attributed solely to spatial legislation. The data show that only 10.4% of business entities are classified in the secondary sector, which is the second strongest sector by number of employees, as it employs 29.9% of all employees (Table IV). Surprisingly, 55.0% of all activities in the secondary sector are located in residential areas. A high percentage of secondary sector activities can be found also in the areas of community, commerce and business services (18.2%) and in dispersed settlement areas (8.6%). Only 14.6% of activities in the secondary sector are actually located in the areas of industry.
An additional analysis of business entities located within 428 industry and manufacturing areas (Fig. 3), identified in the project entitled Methodology for Defining and Gathering Business Zones and Entities of an Innovative Environment in Slovenia 63 , showed that 16,764 entities were registered in these zones, which represents only 6.52% of all business entities in Slovenia. In addition, only 328 zones are actually located within industry and manufacturing areas of zoned land use (I). There are 8,794 business entities registered in them. The other 100 zones, in which 7,970 business entities are registered, are found in other categories of zoned land use. Based on these results, we can conclude that despite the adopted spatial development strategies at all administrative levels (national, regional, local) and extensive financing of business zones by local communities, Slovenia was not able to respond entirely to the large demand for business premises and facilities that have been witnessed in the past decades. 64 The smallest share of business entities are primary sector activities (1.1%), with the majority located in residential areas (56.4%), dispersed settlement areas (15.2%) and the areas of community, commerce and business services (14.1%). Quite significant is also the share in the areas of industry and manufacturing (5.2%) and in agricultural land (3.4%).
One of the reasons for this situation is certainly the possibility for business entities to report the activity at one address, but actually perform it at another. Public records do not con-    tain this information, so the results of the analysis cannot fully reflect the actual situation. We even assume that the share of noncompliant locations is not insignificant. Similar case is the employee registration, as larger entities register all employees at one address, even though they actually work in various offices across the country. We assume that the reasons can be found in other statutory provisions as well, as they must be taken into account when registering a business entity in various fields. But, so far no one has done a more detailed research in this direction.
We can conclude that the zoned land use is not in the expected relation with the activity performed by business entities (production in industrial areas, services of general interest in the areas of community, commerce and business, production of energy and food, sport, tourism and commerce areas or agricultural land, etc.). We can notice obvious and numerous deviations. The spatial distribution is based on location or business criteria (land ownership or lower purchase price, cheaper contribution to the communal furnishing of building land, proximity to business partners or customers, etc.). 65 • Business Entities and Building Typology -We additionally researched the building typology of business entities. It turned out that almost two thirds (166,191 or 64.7%) were registered in residential buildings, and only 90,841 (35.3%) were registered in non-residential buildings (Table V).
Residential buildings hold especially the activities of the tertiary and quaternary sectors (such as business consultancy, engineering services, technical consultancy, computer programming, etc.). Čok and Furman Oman 66 noted that some activities of the secondary sector (such as carpentry and metal or plastics manufacturing) appear to some extent as home-based work (Fig. 4).
The difference in registration data between the location of the company's headquarters and the location of its actual activity and service is encouraged by the existing legislation, which, with obtaining an appropriate construction and business documentation, allows 65 This framework also includes the previously mentioned practice of relatively simple organization of home-based work, which represents a cheaper, faster or a more accessible alternative to commercial enterprise in business zones.  a loose definition of the predominant use of an individual building (e.g. predominantly residential or predominantly commercial use). Such an approach concedes different interpretations and may also lead to the acquisition of legal licenses for large-scale manufacturing activities within a residential building or in a residential area. The practice tries to follow the development of entrepreneurship, but consequently generates dispersion in a wider area and causes various environmental impacts, which have not yet been sufficiently explored, but present a substantial financial, logistical and administrative problem (energy distribution, waste collection, noise remediation, emissions, etc.).
Among the important side effects are the visual effects on a wider environment, which must be properly interpreted in relation to the Public Interest Institute. The economic aspect has commonly been justified as a priority over the qualitative elements of the urban environment. In the concept of sustainable planning, economic growth and the quality of the living environment represent equivalent development goals and as such also assume the role of public interest. Also notable is the fact that the real estate market alone defines landscaping as an important business interest. This particular interpretation of the concept of sustainable planning leads, due to spatial distribution of business entities with no proper relation to the natural and social environment, to the degradation of space.

ZakLjuČak i diskusija
The results of the research showed that business entities are mostly concentrated in major urban centers, with the Central Slovenia statistical region being the most prominent, as 33.2% of all business entities in Slovenia are registered there. Most surprising is the fact that more than a half (56.2%) of business entities are located in residential areas and dispersed settlement areas. These include secondary and tertiary sector activities. From a b Bibliography Literatura this we can conclude that work at home in Slovenia is a widespread phenomenon, and the establishment of business zones as a measure of directing (especially secondary) activities in space has so far been only partially effective. 67 The analysis of the results also revealed a methodological dilemma, caused by the existing record keeping of business entities 68 , which does not contain information on the actual location of the business activity but only information on the address where the business entity is registered. We were therefore able to answer the research question only partly, as it was determined by how much we could examine the publicly available data. It is also not possible to estimate the deviation of the actual state of activities from the registered locations of business entities.
Based on the statistical chronology of the corporate sector development after 1991 69 , it can be stated with great certainty that the current dispersed state is also a consequence of the slow response of regulatory instruments to the increase in demand for surfaces and facilities in development and the altered technological requirements of individual activities.
The results of the research address the need for a more professional, politically administrative treatment of this field, as numerous business processes and their social and environmental consequences are negatively affecting the quality of the living environment. Further research should therefore be especially directed towards more contemporary forms of work (including home-based work) that enable decentralization of workplaces from major urban areas and have consequently positive effects on reducing daily commuting and environmental pollution while maintaining population density in rural or other structurally deprived areas. 70 Therefore, in the future it will be necessary to: − supplement the records of business entities with the location information and the number of workplaces at the location of activity, − establish more effective criteria for the placement of business activities in terms of appropriate zoned land use, − develop regulatory mechanisms for the decentralization of workplaces and the execution of home-based work.
It is only on the basis of such improvements that it will be possible to finalize a more indepth study of the spatial distribution of business entities and to prepare an appropriate academic basis to support diversified decision-making.
(MA in Translation Studies)]