IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/regstd/v46y2012i8p1067-1083.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subcontracting in Italian Industry: Labour Division, Firm Growth and the North--South Divide

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Giunta
  • Annamaria Nifo
  • Domenico Scalera

Abstract

Giunta A., Nifo A. et Scalera D. Subcontracting in Italian industry: labour division, firm growth and the North--South divide, Regional Studies . The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of subcontracting on Italian manufacturing firms' growth in the second half of the 1990s. The main results are: (1) producing as subcontractors does not penalize firms but can be a positive determinant of growth, especially when coupled with the propensity to innovate; (2) since a non-linear relationship between growth and subcontracting emerges, an organizational mode not fully specialized in either subcontracting activity or direct sales may be optimal; and (3) the deep dualism of the Italian industrial structure is confirmed, as Southern subcontractors show poorer performances and slower growth. Giunta A., Nifo A. and Scalera D. 意大利产业中的分包:劳动力分配、公司增长以及南北分异,区域研究。 本文旨在考察上世纪90 年代后期分包对于意大利制造业公司增长的影响。主要的研究结果包括:(1)作为分包商非但没有对公司产生负面影响反而成为增长中的积极决定因素,尤其是当其与创新结合的情况下;(2 )由于在增长与分包中存在非线性关联,一种既非完全关注于分包活动也非直销的组 织模式得到推崇;(3)研究肯定了意大利产业结构中存在的深层次二元性,表现在南部分包商业绩较差且增长缓慢。 分包 价值链 区位 公司增长 Giunta A., Nifo A. et Scalera D. La sous-traitance dans l'industrie italienne: la division du travail, la croissance des entreprises et le clivage Nord-Sud, Regional Studies . Cet article cherche à examiner l'impact de la sous-traitance sur la croissance des entreprises industrielles italiennes pendant la deuxième moiti� des ann�es 90. Les principaux r�sultats sont les suivants: (1) produire en tant que sous-traitant ne p�nalise pas les entreprises mais peut s'av�rer un d�terminant positif de la croissance, notamment quand on y associe la propensit� à innover; (2) �tant donn� qu'il en ressort un rapport non-lin�aire entre la croissance et la sous-traitance, il se peut qu'un mode organisationnel qui ne se sp�cialise à fond, ni en la sous-traitance, ni en les ventes directes, soit optimal; et (3) le dualisme profond de la structure industrielle italienne se voit confirmer, vu que les sous-traitants du Sud font preuve d'une performance faible et d'un taux de croissance plus lent. Sous-traitance Chaîne des valeurs Emplacement Croissance des entreprises Giunta A., Nifo A. und Scalera D. Untervergabe von Aufträgen in der italienischen Industrie: Arbeitsteilung, Firmenwachstum und das Nord-Süd-Gefälle, Regional Studies . In diesem Beitrag wird untersucht, wie sich die Untervergabe von Aufträgen in der zweiten Hälfte der neunziger Jahre auf das Wachstum von produzierenden Firmen in Italien ausgewirkt hat. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse sind: (1) eine Produktion als Subunternehmen ist für die Firmen nicht mit Nachteilen verbunden, sondern kann insbesondere in Verbindung mit einer Innovationsneigung einen positiven Determinanten für Wachstum darstellen; (2) da sich eine nicht lineare Beziehung zwischen Wachstum und Untervergabe abzeichnet, könnte sich eine Organisationsform als optimal erweisen, die sich nicht ausschließlich auf Untervergabe bzw. Direktverkäufe spezialisiert; (3) der grundlegende Dualismus der italienischen Industriestruktur wird bestätigt, da südliche Subunternehmen weniger Leistung und langsameres Wachstum aufweisen. Untervergabe von Aufträgen Wertschöpfungskette Standort Firm enwachstum Giunta A., Nifo A. y Scalera D. Subcontratación en la industria italiana: división laboral, crecimiento de las empresas y la división norte-sur, Regional Studies . El objetivo de este art�culo es investigar el efecto de la subcontratación en el crecimiento de las empresas manufactureras italianas en la segunda mitad de los noventa. Los resultados principales son: (1) la producción en la subcontratación no penaliza a las empresas sino que puede ser un determinante positivo del crecimiento, especialmente cuando se combina con la predisposición a la innovación; (2) puesto que surge una relación no lineal entre el crecimiento y la subcontratación, podr�a ser ideal un modo de organización que no est� totalmente especializado en la actividad de subcontratación o en las ventas directas; y (3) se confirma el fuerte dualismo de la estructura industrial italiana, puesto que los subcontratistas del sur demuestran peores resultados y un crecimiento más lento. Subcontratación Cadena de valores Ubicación Crecimiento de empresas

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Giunta & Annamaria Nifo & Domenico Scalera, 2012. "Subcontracting in Italian Industry: Labour Division, Firm Growth and the North--South Divide," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(8), pages 1067-1083, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:46:y:2012:i:8:p:1067-1083
    DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2011.552492
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00343404.2011.552492
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00343404.2011.552492?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Blandina Oliveira & Adelino Fortunato, 2006. "Testing Gibrat's Law: Empirical Evidence from a Panel of Portuguese Manufacturing Firms," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 65-81.
    2. Wei, Shang-Jin & Amiti, Mary, 2006. "Service Offshoring, Productivity and Employment: Evidence from the US," CEPR Discussion Papers 5475, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Newey, Whitney K & West, Kenneth D, 1987. "Hypothesis Testing with Efficient Method of Moments Estimation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 28(3), pages 777-787, October.
    4. Giovanni Ferri & Giovanni Costa, 2007. "The determinants and employment effects of international outsourcing: the case of Italy," SERIES 0016, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", revised Apr 2007.
    5. F. Daveri & C. Jona-Lasinio, 2007. "Off-shoring and productivity growth in the Italian manufacturing industries," Economics Department Working Papers 2007-EP08, Department of Economics, Parma University (Italy).
    6. Variyam, Jayachandran N. & Kraybill, David S., 1992. "Empirical evidence on determinants of firm growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 31-36, January.
    7. Anna M. Falzoni & Lucia Tajoli, 2011. "Offshoring and the Skill Composition of Employment in the Italian Manufacturing Industries," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, issue 1, pages 121-153, January-M.
    8. Harhoff, Dietmar & Stahl, Konrad & Woywode, Michael, 1998. "Legal Form, Growth and Exit of West German Firms--Empirical Results for Manufacturing, Construction, Trade and Service Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 453-488, December.
    9. Anna Giunta & Domenico Scalera, 2007. "L'impresa subfornitrice: redditivit?, produttivit? e divari territoriali," ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2007(3), pages 123-146.
    10. Riccaboni, Massimo & Pammolli, Fabio, 2002. "On firm growth in networks," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(8-9), pages 1405-1416, December.
    11. Bengt Holmstrom & John Roberts, 1998. "The Boundaries of the Firm Revisited," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 73-94, Fall.
    12. Dietmar Harhoff & Konrad Stahl & Michaerl Woywode, 1998. "Legal Form, Growth and Exit of West German Firms—Empirical Results for Manufacturing, Construction, Trade and Service Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 453-488, December.
    13. Gordon H. Hanson & Raymond J. Mataloni & Matthew J. Slaughter, 2005. "Vertical Production Networks in Multinational Firms," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(4), pages 664-678, November.
    14. Silvia Sacchetti & Roger Sugden, 2003. "The Governance of Networks and Economic Power: The Nature and Impact of Subcontracting Relationships," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(5), pages 669-692, December.
    15. Roberta Rabellotti & Alessia Amighini, 2003. "The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: evidence from the footwear sector," ERSA conference papers ersa03p500, European Regional Science Association.
    16. R. Kaplinsky, 2000. "Globalisation and Unequalisation: What Can Be Learned from Value Chain Analysis?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 117-146.
    17. Paul R. Bergin & Robert C. Feenstra & Gordon H. Hanson, 2007. "Outsourcing and Volatility," NBER Working Papers 13144, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Robert Feenstra & Gordon Hanson, 2001. "Global Production Sharing and Rising Inequality: A Survey of Trade and Wages," NBER Working Papers 8372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. P. Geroski, 1998. "An Applied Econometrician's View of Large Company Performance," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 13(3), pages 271-294, June.
    20. Audretsch, David B & Klomp, Luuk & Thurik, A R Roy, 1997. "Do Services Differ From Manufacturing? The Post-Entry Performance of Firms in Dutch Services," CEPR Discussion Papers 1718, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Alessia Amighini & Roberta Rabellotti, 2003. "the effects of globalization on italian industrial districts: evidence from the footwear sector," Working Papers 64, SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont.
    22. Maria Borga & William J. Zeile, 2004. "International Fragmentation of Production and the Intrafirm Trade of U.s. Multinational Companies," BEA Papers 0035, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    23. Evans, David S, 1987. "Tests of Alternative Theories of Firm Growth," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(4), pages 657-674, August.
    24. Karel Havik & Kieran Mc Morrow, 2006. "Global trade integration and outsourcing : How well is the EU coping with the new challenges?," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 259, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    25. John Humphrey & Hubert Schmitz, 2002. "How does insertion in global value chains affect upgrading in industrial clusters?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(9), pages 1017-1027.
    26. James Heintz, 2006. "Low-wage manufacturing and global commodity chains: a model in the unequal exchange tradition," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 30(4), pages 507-520, July.
    27. McPherson, Michael A., 1996. "Growth of micro and small enterprises in southern Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 253-277, March.
    28. Hummels, David & Ishii, Jun & Yi, Kei-Mu, 2001. "The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 75-96, June.
    29. Mary Amiti & Shang-Jin Wei, 2006. "Service Offshoring and Productivity: Evidence from the United States," NBER Working Papers 11926, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. Gereffi, Gary, 1999. "International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-70, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna Giunta & Domenico Scalera & Annamaria Nifo, 2008. "Divisione del lavoro, crescita e divari di performance nell'industria italiana degli anni '90," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0097, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    2. Takehiko Yasuda, 2005. "Firm Growth, Size, Age and Behavior in Japanese Manufacturing," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Anna Giunta & Domenico Scalera & Francesco Trivieri & Jeffrey B. Nugent & Mariarosaria Agostino, 2011. "Firm Productivity, Organizational Choice and Global Value Chain," Working Papers 2011R09, Orkestra - Basque Institute of Competitiveness.
    4. Alex Coad & Werner Hölzl, 2012. "Firm Growth: Empirical Analysis," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 24, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Younsuk Park & Jaeun Shin & Taejong Kim, 2010. "Firm size, age, industrial networking, and growth: a case of the Korean manufacturing industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 153-168, September.
    6. Rosario Crinò, 2009. "Offshoring, Multinationals And Labour Market: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(2), pages 197-249, April.
    7. Chen Ge & Shu-Guang Zhang & Bin Wang, 2020. "Modeling the joint distribution of firm size and firm age based on grouped data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, July.
    8. Stefan Pahl & Marcel P. Timmer, 2020. "Do Global Value Chains Enhance Economic Upgrading? A Long View," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(9), pages 1683-1705, July.
    9. Mary Amiti & Shang-Jin Wei, 2005. "Fear of service outsourcing: is it justified? [‘Location of vertically linked industries: agglomeration versus comparative advantage’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 20(42), pages 308-347.
    10. Alex Coad, 2007. "Firm Growth: a Survey," Post-Print halshs-00155762, HAL.
    11. Daria Ciriaci & Pietro Moncada-Paternò-Castello & Peter Voigt, 2016. "Innovation and job creation: a sustainable relation?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(2), pages 189-213, August.
    12. Almus, Matthias & Engel, Dirk & Nerlinger, Eric A., 1999. "Wachstumsdeterminanten junger Unternehmen in den alten und neuen Bundesländern: Ein Vergleich zwischen innovativen und nicht-innovativen Unternehmen," ZEW Discussion Papers 99-09, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. D.B. Audretsch & L. Klomp & E. Santarelli & A.R. Thurik, 2004. "Gibrat's Law: Are the Services Different?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 24(3), pages 301-324, May.
    14. Agnese, Pablo & Joan Enric, Ricart, 2009. "Offshoring: Facts and numbers at the country level," MPRA Paper 16503, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Antonio Accetturo & Anna Giunta & Salvatore Rossi, 2011. "The Italian Firms between Crisis and the new Globalization," L'industria, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 145-164.
    16. Harald Oberhofer & Michael Pfaffermayr, 2013. "Firm growth in multinational corporate groups," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 1435-1453, June.
    17. Victor Stolzenburg & Daria Taglioni & Deborah Winkler, 2019. "Economic upgrading through global value chain participation: which policies increase the value-added gains?," Chapters, in: Stefano Ponte & Gary Gereffi & Gale Raj-Reichert (ed.), Handbook on Global Value Chains, chapter 30, pages 483-505, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Emanuele Breda & Rita Cappariello & Roberta Zizza, 2007. "Vertical Specialisation in Europe: Evidence from the Import Content of Exports," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, vol. 97(3), pages 189-189, May-June.
    19. Ferrando, Annalisa & Martinez-Carrascal, Carmen & Coluzzi, Chiara, 2009. "Financing obstacles and growth: an analysis for euro area non-financial corporations," Working Paper Series 997, European Central Bank.
    20. Matteo Richiardi, 2004. "Generalizing Gibrat: Reasonable Multiplicative Models of Firm Dynamics," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 7(1), pages 1-2.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:regstd:v:46:y:2012:i:8:p:1067-1083. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/CRES20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.