he automobile industry is a representative industry that has led the domestic economy. Recently, the paradigm is shifting to future automotive in the automobile industry. The industry that determines the technological competitiveness of the automobile industry is the automobile parts industry, which is a major industry in Gyeongnam. Gyeongnam is promoting various support projects to respond to changes in the automobile industry ecosystem. In order to go beyond the current level and to have competitiveness as a major industry in Gyeongnam, it is necessary to identify the spatial network structure and network formation factors, and to propose an appropriate industrial strategy.
Therefore, this study analyzes the structure of the Gyeongnam future automobile parts industry network and its formation factors. In the network structure analysis, first, the network was visualized by reflecting the actual address of the company. As a result, many companies were distributed in the eastern part of Gyeongnam, such as Changwon-si, Yangsan-si, Gimhae-si, and Haman-gun, and formed a network regardless of administrative boundaries. Second, network statistics were calculated to estimate the structure of the network. As a result, it was found that the Gyeongnam future automobile parts industry network is a segmented network, and the nodes in the segmented groups are gathered based on high reliability. Third, node centrality was calculated to identify major companies and identify their attributes. As a result, it can be seen that large companies have a great influence in the network in terms of degree centrality. In terms of betweenness centrality, it was found that companies that are transacting with companies with high degree centrality act as intermediaries connecting different groups in the network. In terms of closeness centrality, it was confirmed that small company can quickly spread parts to the entire network. In terms of space, Changwon-si, Yangsan-si, Haman-gun, and Gimhae-si were found to have a great influence on the future automobile parts industry network in Gyeongnam. The results of the network formation factor analysis showed that the number of employees, sales, and industry code of the company had a significant effect on network formation. Implications were derived by synthesizing the results of the analysis and what was pursued in the national spatial policy. First, it is necessary for the region to take the lead in the industry by forming a mutually cooperative network within the region. If so, it will exert a positive influence even when forming a wide-area network with other regions. Second, industrial policies that consider the characteristics of companies are needed. As a result of the analysis, the attributes of a company have a significant effect on network formation. Therefore, an effective industrial policy considering the impact on the industrial network must be prepared. Third, it is necessary to prepare a company arrangement plan for efficient linkage between businesses. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the type of industry had an effect on the formation of trade relationships. Therefore, it is necessary to think about efficient linkages between companies, such as aggregation between companies in the same industry or different industries.
In this study, only the future automobile parts industry was targeted, but it is judged that the methodology can be applied to various industries. Efficient industrial support will be possible with customized industrial policies based on the results of network analysis by industry.