Coopération industrielle et développement territorial : le textile et l'habillement à Sfax

Cooperation within the textile and clothing sector in Sfax (Tunisia) is the object of this paper. The spatial concentration of firms within a Marshallian ?industrial district? enhances external economies and makes cooperation easier. This study sheds some light on the variables that are correlated with a permanent cooperation. Cooperation potential takes various forms with respect to its informal or written character, and whether contractual arrangements are designed or not to promote innovation. Most contracts we refer to are of the vertical or horizontal subcontracting-type. The dataset results from a survey realized in 2004. The sample is representative of the firm population and accounts for about 25 % of the district organizations. The empirical analysis has been carried out by mobilizing qualitative econometrics techniques, especially logit models. Estimations do not reject a positive correlation between cooperation at one hand and the size of the firm and its institutional status regarding exports at the other hand. However, it is negatively correlated with the presence of family roots. In addition cooperation is more likely to occur within the city of Sfax than in its periphery.