Eleonora Di Maria

Global Value Chains and Open Networks: The Case of Italian Industrial Districts

Italian district small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developed aggressive strategies to extend their sales networks and supply chains abroad. Literature on districts offered alternative explanations about the impacts of internationalization on local manufacturing systems. The authors consider the evolution of Italian districts in the framework of global value chain approach, focusing on the role of leading firms. Based on a survey of 650 Italian SMEs and financial indicators, the paper describes the rise of a new district firm model, the open network, which becomes a key node of global value chains. The paper also analyses the relationships among internationalization, innovation strategies and performance of SMEs.

Codification and creativity: knowledge management strategies in KIBS

Purpose – The paper aims to analyze the relationships between standardization and creativity in the process of service innovation in knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS), specifically in those specialized in highly creative outputs (KIBS in design and communication). Studies on knowledge management and on service management emphasize the opportunity to gain efficiency through a standardization of services and organizational processes. However, creative activities are characterized by informality and difficulty to be standardized.Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a qualitative research approach. Two case studies of medium‐size KIBS specialized in design and communication, localized in Bangalore (India) and in Treviso (Italy) are developed to identify how KIBS approach knowledge management both internally and externally and how firms structure the innovation process.Findings – KIBS can use a suitable knowledge management strategy to balance creative outputs with standardization based on...

The Greening of Global Value Chains: Insights from the Furniture Industry

With increasing fragmentation of production between independent firms that are spatially dispersed and are responsible for different steps of the production process, a Global Value Chain approach is employed to examine how ‘lead firms’ shape the green features of upstream activities. Comparative case studies in the Italian furniture industry (Ikea, Valcucine) are used to show that lead firms implement ‘hands-on’ governing mechanisms to improve the environmental performance of their value chain partners — moving away from the market but still avoiding vertical integration — but also ‘hands-off’ mechanisms embedded in standards and design. Two governing approaches to the greening of value chains are identified: standard-driven and mentoring-driven, and these are used to provide some reflections on when we are likely to observe one or the other, and also to develop a future research agenda.

Multinational Firms and the Management of Global Networks: Insights from Global Value Chain Studies

Abstract This paper aims at enriching the literature on international business (IB) studies to include insights from Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis to better explain how MNCs can orchestrate a global network organization. A first important contribution of the GVC literature is that it shifts the focus from single firms to their value chains, providing instruments to study how activities are split and organized among different firms at the industry level, and how MNCs can implement different governing mechanisms within a network-based setting. The GVC literature also highlights that retailers (as global buyers) often act as ‘lead firms’ in shaping the trajectories of global industries, while IB studies have so far focused predominantly on manufacturing firms. A fine-grained analysis of alternative forms of governance characterizing value chains can offer additional elements in explaining how MNCs can manage their network relationships in a global scenario. Finally, through their focus on upgrading, GVC studies suggest that knowledge flows and innovation dynamics taking place within value chains are as important as those taking place within the MNC’s organizational border. We conclude by arguing that these insights can help the IB literature to examine the challenges and opportunities MNCs face in engaging with suppliers and to explain the dynamic evolution of orchestrating global activities at the global level.

Market extension and knowledge management strategies of knowledge-intensive business services

The paper aims at analysing the relationship between the market extension of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) and their knowledge management strategies. The literature emphasizes the strong relationship existing between KIBS and their customers in terms of innovation process and knowledge creation. We argue that the knowledge management strategies – in terms of knowledge codification, personalization, and knowledge creation – implemented by a KIBS is related to their geographical market extension. A quantitative approach is developed based on more than 150 Italian KIBS specializing in design and communication. The paper enriches the research framework concerning KIBS by emphasizing also the role of partners other than customers in KIBS’ knowledge management strategies.

Exporters moving toward emerging markets: a resource-based approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand whether and how specific capabilities at the firm level can sustain firms during the process of international expansion in emerging markets (EMs). Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study was carried out, and the authors analyzed data from a sample of 271 manufacturing firms. A logistic regression was used to check for differences in the endowment of resources and capabilities of firms solely focussing on advanced markets (AMs) or extending their international scope to EMs as well. Findings – Firms that expanded their business in EMs showed a significantly higher endowment of international experience and marketing capabilities compared with firms that focussed only on AMs. The authors found that the size of the firm is irrelevant: even small firms can reach EMs by leveraging an appropriate set of capabilities. Research limitations/implications – The study is cross-sectional and cannot provide a longitudinal view of the process of capability de...

Determinants of Market Extension in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: Evidence from a Regional Innovation System

Several studies have emphasized the role of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in fostering innovation in metropolitan areas and regional innovation systems. Such areas are capable of expressing a strong demand for KIBS and consequently stimulate the rise and growth of KIBS. Despite an abundance of literature on KIBS emphasizing the relevance of spatial proximity to customers, many KIBS develop relationships on a broader national or even international scale. No studies have focused explicitly on this apparent discrepancy as yet. The aim of this paper is therefore to fill this theoretical and empirical gap by explaining the firm-level factors relating to the market extension of KIBS within the framework of regional innovation systems. Our analysis is based on a quantitative study on more than 150 KIBS supplying design or communication services located in the Veneto region (north-eastern Italy), an area that can be described as a regional innovation system. Five variables were considered, that is, size, experience, service standardization, investments in network technologies and relational intensity. Our results confirm that three of these variables, but not service standardization and relational intensity, correlate positively with the market extension of KIBS. Policy implications are also discussed.

Clusters Go Green: Drivers of Environmental Sustainability in Local Networks of SMEs

Literature on eco-parks and eco-clusters has emphasized the opportunities for the coupling of local economic development and sustainability, going beyond firms’ green strategies to include also supply chains and local networks of firms. Studies have described the conditions and policies for the development of new sustainable economic activities in specific areas based on the industrial ecology approach. In contrast, little attention has been given to analysing how existing industrial districts are facing the chances of the new competitive pressures related to sustainability. The paper investigates the drivers and the evolutionary paths of industrial districts towards environmental sustainability. The empirical analysis is based on qualitative case studies of two Italian industrial districts specializing in the production of leather (Arzignano) and tiles (Sassuolo). Managerial and policy implications are provided.

Creativity Versus Standardization in Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: A Real Trade-Off?

In the literature on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), scholars have debated the role and extent of their standardization, and two main stances have emerged. On the one hand, some studies explicitly deny the possibility of a service standardization and emphasize the relevance of customization: the value of KIBS lies in their capacity to offer tailored services capable of meeting their client’s needs concerning access to technical, commercial, or scientific knowledge (Miles, 1995; Muller and Doloreux, 2009). According to the literature on business services, it is in the nature of KIBS to differentiate their offering to suit their client’s requirements (den Hertog, 2000). On the other hand, other scholars have stressed the advantages of service standardization and specifically of KIBS (Tether et al., 2001). Through standardization, the service provider can increase productivity and adopt an industrial model of production similar to manufacturing firms. Standardization can lead to scale: service firms can increase in size and improve their growth by overcoming the Baumol’s disease problem (Baumol and Bowen, 1966).

Innovazione, comunicazione e presidio dei mercati. le performance delle imprese del made in Italy

Le imprese manifatturiere sono chiamate a rinnovare la propria offerta attraverso un piu esplicito investimento nel marketing come funzione in grado di costruire relazioni interattive con i clienti e supportare l’innovazione simbolica e la proposta di nuovi significati da veicolare al mercato. Dal punto di vista empirico sono ancora limitati gli studi che approfondiscono le strategie di marketing, in particolare sul fronte della comunicazione, delle imprese italiane mettendo a confronto le politiche di prodotto, il ruolo del design, l’investimento in marca e le politiche distributive, con un’attenzione ai mercati esteri. Il paper sviluppa un approfondimento empirico relativo alle strategie di comunicazione delle piccole e medie imprese specializzate nei settori del made in Italy, attraverso un’analisi quantitativa relativa a oltre 400 imprese operanti nei mercati finali.