La promozione del settore privato nei paesi in via di sviluppo: un approccio di mercato

15 - 04 - 2000 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Developing Countries, Industrial development

L’Industria, 21(2): 345-385

The article is in collaboration with Laura Viganò.

The aim is to elaborate a framework for analysing policies and instruments adopted by international cooperation to promote the development of the private sector in developing countries. First of all, the paper presents a brief overview of donors’ dominant approach in the past two decades and then an analysis of the most recent trends in this field. Both concerning non financial and financial services to the firms, there is a wide consensus on the need of strenghtening local supply institutions, promoting their sustainability and effectiveness. Donors should sustain on the supply side, the development of a well functioning and transparent market for services, avoiding interventions which generates long term distortions and on the demand side should help firms in identifying their needs and the best way to satisfy them within the market.

Recovery of a Mexican Cluster: Devaluation Bonanza or Collective Efficiency?

15 - 09 - 1999 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Clusters, Footwear Industry, Mexico

World Development, 27(9): 1571-1585

Mexico, as many other developing countries in Latin America and elsewhere, has been moving in the 1980s toward a liberalized trade regime after a long period of import substitution. This paper analyzes the impact of trade liberalization on the cooperative behavior of shoe ®rms located in a cluster in Guadalajara. The empirical evidence shows that cooperation has increased. It also suggests that cooperation positively influences firms’ performance and together with a favorable market environment contributes to the cluster’s recovery. The study is based on ®eldwork carried out in Guadalajara in 1996. Qualitative information was collected through in-depth interviews and quantified responses came from a questionnaire survey covering a sample of 63 shoe manufacturing enterprises.

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The internal heterogeneity in industrial districts in Italy, Brazil and Mexico

15 - 02 - 1999 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Clusters, Industrial development, Industrial districts, Small and Medium Enterprises

Regional Studies, 33(2): 97-108

The paper is written in collaboration with Hubert Schmitz.

Industrial districts have attracted the attention of development economists in the search for new models of industrial development. Many case studies have shown that clustering helps local enterprises to overcome growth constraints and compete in distant markets. However, empirical studies also reveal shortcomings of the industrial district model. This paper shows that, within the districts, there is enormous heterogeneity by size and performance. Even though clustering firms feed on each other, they vary a great deal in the strategies they employ and the growth they achieve. This internal heterogeneity is investigated for three cases: the shoe industries in Italy, Brazil and Mexico.

Efficienza collettiva e cluster di imprese: oltre l’esperienza italiana

1 - 01 - 1999 in Books, Publications Tags: Clusters, Developing Countries, Industrial development

Published by Il Mulino

Edited with Marco Di Tommaso

This book presents studies of clusters in developing countries, showing how much these organizational model is diffused and how it contributes to industrial development.

Collective effects in Italian and Mexican footwear industrial clusters

12 - 09 - 1998 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Clusters, Footwear Industry, Italy, Mexico

Small Business Economics, 10(3):243-262

The focus of this article is on the analysis of the collective economic effects deriving from the intense set of backward, forward, labor, horizontal and institutional linkages existing within clusters of enterprises. Among the economic effects two main categories are distinguished: external economies, which are the spontaneous by-product of economic activities undertaken within the clusters and cooperation effects, which are the results of explicit and deliberate cooperative behaviors of the economic actors. In the empirical investigation, these economic effects have been analyzed in four clusters of footwear firms in Italy and Mexico. The first result of the empirical investigation is the confirmation of the importance of collective efficiency both in the ‘proper’ Italian districts and in the Mexican clusters. Nevertheless, there are considerable differences concerning the intensity and quality of the collective effects between the realities studied. Those differences are explained through the impact of the disparities in the outside environment on the core characteristics of the different clusters. Finally, some considerations about the need for moving from a static to a dynamic approach to explain differences between stages of development and growth trajectory patterns of the districts are put forward.

External economies and cooperation in industrial districts: a comparison of Italy and Mexico

1 - 01 - 1997 in Books, Publications Tags: Footwear Industry, Industrial development, Industrial districts, Italy, Mexico, Small and Medium Enterprises

This book was published by McMillan and also translated in Persian.

The success of industrial districts in Europe has attracted the interest of development economists in their search for new industrial development models. This study explores the extent to which the industrial district ‘model’ explains the realities of four footwear clusters in Italy, the ‘land’ of districts, and in Mexico, a less developed country. Empirical investigation confirms that there are gains from clustering; however, differences have also been identified in the intensity and quality of collective effects between the realities studied and the ‘model’. Those differences are attributed to disparities in the external environments, to heterogeneity of economic actors, and to the adoption of a dynamic approach to interpret cluster growth trajectories.

Enterprise clusters and networks as sources of cooperation and technology diffusion for small firms in developing countries

1 - 01 - 1996 in Books, Publications Tags: Clusters, Developing Countries, Industrial development, Small and Medium Enterprises

Published by Frank Cass

Edited with Meine Pieter van Dijk

This is a collection of articles on industrial districts in developing countries. It analyses the functions and advantages of clusters and networks for small enterprises in developing countries. In the opening chapter the editors describe different types of clusters and networks and compare the diverse forms of external economies and co-operation effects derived from them. Taking a multidiscplinary approach, they point out it is trust that is the social basis for positive effects of clustering and networking, which are often sources of co-operation and technology diffusion for small enterprises in developing countries.

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Is there an industrial district “model”? Footwear districts in Italy and Mexico

15 - 01 - 1995 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Clusters, Footwear Industry, Industrial districts, Italy, Mexico

World Development, 23 (1) 29-41

In this paper we present the results of empirical research carried out in two footwear clusters located in Italy, the “land of industrial districts,” and two clusters of footwear enterprises in Mexico. The aim of the study is to present a comparison between the ideal-typical industrial district, as it is defined in the literature, and the case studies in Mexico and Italy. Material from a survey of clusters of firms in Italy and Mexico reveals how clusters in both countries differ in some aspects from the “textbook” model. Similarities and differences are- investigated in some detail, and attention is given to the intensity and quality of backward and forward linkages, the existence of an “industrial atmosphere” and the nature and extent of institutional support.

Technology and organisation in the Italian textile-clothing industry”

15 - 07 - 1992 in Journal Articles, Publications Tags: Industrial districts, Innovation, Italy, Textile Industry

Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 4: 271-285

The objective of the paper in collaboration with Roberto Camagni is to draw some conclusions about the capability of the Italian textile-clothing industry to sustain the strong competition of the fast-growing industry in
developing countries, through the analysis of some examples of technological and organizational case studies of ‘best practice’.
Technological and organizational innovations have been adopted as key strategic tools for reviving and maintaining con~petitiveness in international markets. In this paper we have studied a number of enterprises, among the most technologically advanced within the textile and clothing sector and have analysed the impact of the introduction of information technologies on their organizational structure.