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Italian SMEs and industrial districts on the move: Where are they going?

Author

Listed:
  • Roberta Rabellotti
  • Anna Carabelli
  • Giovanna Hirsch

    (SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont)

Abstract

Since the second half of the 1990s the Italian economy has experienced a significant slowdown in the rate of economic growth. The ‘dwarfism’ of its manufacturing firms, their specialisation in traditional sectors and their organisation in industrial districts have been identified by many scholars as major structural weaknesses in the Italian industrial system. Nevertheless, there is a vast and flourishing empirical literature showing that many industrial districts are actually changing in terms of sector specialisation, international and innovation strategies and emergence of new forms of enterprise organisation. In this paper, we provide a critical survey of the new and different patterns of industrial organisation emerging in industrial districts.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberta Rabellotti & Anna Carabelli & Giovanna Hirsch, 2007. "Italian SMEs and industrial districts on the move: Where are they going?," Working Papers 115, SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont.
    • Handle: RePEc:upo:upopwp:115
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    File URL: http://semeq.unipmn.it/files/Quaderno%20n.13.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Sandrine Labory, 2011. "Role of external knowledge flows in cluster upgrading: an empirical analysis of the Mirandola biomedical district in Italy," Working Papers 201114, University of Ferrara, Department of Economics.
    2. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 2011. "Conceptualizing Cluster Evolution: Beyond the Life Cycle Model?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(10), pages 1299-1318, November.
    3. Andrea Ascani & Riccardo Crescenzi & Simona Iammarino, 2016. "What drives European multinationals to the European Union neighbouring countries? A mixed-methods analysis of Italian investment strategies," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(4), pages 656-675, June.
    4. Belussi , Fiorenza, 2015. "The international resilience of Italian industrial districts/clusters (ID/C) between knowledge re-shoring and manufacturing off (near)-shoring," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 32, pages 89-113.
    5. Martin Carree & Ingrid Verheul & Enrico Santarelli, 2011. "Sectoral patterns of firm exit in Italian provinces," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 499-517, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    industrial districts; small and medium sized firms; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance

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