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The Role of Leading Firms in the Evolution of SMEs Clusters: Evidence from the Leather Products Cluster in Florence

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  • Mauro Lombardi

    (Università degli Studi di Firenze,)

  • Filippo Randelli

Abstract

Clusters that emerged in the past have changed during the latest decades, so that today the research challenge in economic geography is on their evolution over time. The aim of this paper is to update on the evolutionary path of SMEs Italian clusters, which faced with the economic crisis are undergoing a process of decline in the number of firms. Furthermore changes in the techno-economic landscape and in the competitive environment have generated new challenges. In this context, some leading firm, able to connect local resources (and firms) to global networks, have emerged over time. We argue that within SMEs clusters, the leading firms act as a gatekeeper, linking local networks to global markets. The focus will be on local networks interacting with leading firms and particular attention will be devoted to the pattern of co-evolution and to the geographical dimension of this co-evolutionary process. To empirically verify if others firms in the cluster may co-evolve with the leading firm over time, a deep analysis of the Gucci network in the leather products cluster in Florence will be carried out.

Suggested Citation

  • Mauro Lombardi & Filippo Randelli, 2012. "The Role of Leading Firms in the Evolution of SMEs Clusters: Evidence from the Leather Products Cluster in Florence," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_17.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    • Handle: RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2012_17.rdf
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hervas-Oliver, Jose-Luis & Lleo, María & Cervello, Roberto, 2017. "The dynamics of cluster entrepreneurship: Knowledge legacy from parents or agglomeration effects? The case of the Castellon ceramic tile district," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 73-92.
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    4. Vasileios Kyriazis & Theodore Metaxas, 2023. "Markusen’s Typology with a “European” Twist, the Examples of the French Aerospace Valley Cluster and the Andalucia Aerospace Cluster," World, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Grumadaitė Kristina & Jucevičius Giedrius, 2017. "Preconditions for Emergence of Lithuanian Clusters: from Informal Cooperation to Its Legitimation," Management of Organizations: Systematic Research, Sciendo, vol. 77(1), pages 37-56, June.
    6. Russo, Michael V. & Earle, Andrew G. & Lahneman, Brooke A. & Tilleman, Suzanne G., 2022. "Taking root in fertile ground: Community context and the agglomeration of hybrid companies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    7. José Antonio Belso-Martínez & María José López-Sánchez & Rosario Mateu-García, 2018. "New MNE subsidiaries in old clusters: when, why, and how," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 441-467, March.
    8. Valentina De Marchi & Eleonora Di Maria, 2019. "Environmental Upgrading and Suppliers’ Agency in the Leather Global Value Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    9. Sun, Yutao, 2016. "The structure and dynamics of intra- and inter-regional research collaborative networks: The case of China (1985–2008)," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 70-82.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cluster evolution; Italian SMEs clusters; network of firms; coevolution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L67 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Other Consumer Nondurables: Clothing, Textiles, Shoes, and Leather Goods; Household Goods; Sports Equipment
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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