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Cutting Porter's last diamond: competitive and comparative (dis)advantages in the Dutch flower industry. Which lesson for Italian SMEs?

Author

Listed:
  • Ernesto Tavoletti

    (not available)

  • Robbin te Velde

    (Università di Macerata - Dialogic innovation and interaction)

Abstract

The Dutch are the world's leaders in the ower business despite they seem to lack comparative advantage in the traditional sense. Comparative advantages paid a role in the history of the Dutch ower industry and they still have a role today. Based on a critic of Porter's theories, the investigation suggests that the exploitation of comparative advantages is allowed only to those rms and industries that already possess a competitive advantage, based on technology, logistics infrastructure, innovation and human skills. So that comparative advantages and competitive advantages join themselves in a sort of helix process based on social innovation and collective learning. The Italian ower industry is both less productive, less innovative, and fragmented in a number of small family businesses. The main lesson to the Italian ower industry is that some regional strategies based just on local comparative advantages is not a rewarding option, unless it is reinforced by a clear competitive advantage strategy, technology and innovation based, that is able to make value out of such comparative local advantages and is also able to exploits and take pro t out of comparative advantages wherever they are abroad.

Suggested Citation

  • Ernesto Tavoletti & Robbin te Velde, 2007. "Cutting Porter's last diamond: competitive and comparative (dis)advantages in the Dutch flower industry. Which lesson for Italian SMEs?," Working Papers 10-2007, Macerata University, Department of Studies on Economic Development (DiSSE), revised Nov 2008.
  • Handle: RePEc:mcr:wpaper:wpaper00010
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    File URL: http://www.unimc.it/sviluppoeconomico/wpaper/wpaper00010/filePaper
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    Cited by:

    1. Gabriel, Andreas & Bitsch, Vera, 2022. "Everywhere the same? Competitiveness of two regional vegetable production clusters in Southern Germany," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 26(1), August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    innovation; district; comparative advantages; Dutch flower industry; competitive advantages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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