I processi di acquisizione di medie imprese ad alta tecnologia dotate di elevate capacit? di marketing: il caso ESAOTE

The acquisition processes of mid-sized high-tech companies with suitable Marketing competences: the Esaote case (by Gianni Cozzi) - ABSTRACT: It is commonly known that in Italy few mid-sized companies have high technological competences and suitable Marketing policies, particularly on the International market. These companies have always been the acquisition target of foreign companies with a larger size and often belonging to global oligopolies. This article is based on an original analytical model of the acquisition processes, which has been developed by the author. The paper considers some cases of company acquisitions (some older, like Telettra and Nuovo Pignone, and some others more recent, like Orsi Automazione and Esaote): it focuses the threats and the opportunities, deriving from the horizontal integrative development processes of the acquiring companies, for the acquired firms. The article focuses on the more recent case, Esaote, because of: -the specificity of its relationship between Marketing and Technology; - the difficult process by which the Italian company has been able to preserve its technological autonomy and its competitive positioning on the International medical diagnostics equipment market. Keywords: Process of company development Horizontal integrative growth Marketing and Technology.