Giancarlo Coro

Industrial Districts as Local Systems of Innovation

This essay examines the situation and the lines of development of industrial districts from the point of view of local systems of innovation. First of all, this article points out to the modernity factors of the district model � which are ascribable to the supply chain economy, to entrepreneurial dynamics and to the importance of geography as a competitive resource � through the analysis of recent contributions of economic literature that examined the emerging organizational models in knowledge economy. Secondly, the outcomes of recent research on leading companies of Italian industrial districts will be presented, looking at three particularly topics of ongoing changes: the process of international opening of the value chain, the technological conditions of competitive advantage, the relationship between strategies and economic performance. Finally, some considerations on the issue of policies will be developed. Such considerations underline the need to re-think the traditional models of local governance of development and suggest to look at the new external district economies, based on service economies, on much more considerable investments in training, technological and cultural activities and, finally, on more aware institutional actions with reference to the association of companies in innovation projects.

I distretti nella crisi: declino, adattamento o innovazione?

Questo articolo propone un’analisi sulle tendenze dell’economia dei distretti italiani, fornendo riferimenti empirici e teorici a sostegno di una precisa tesi interpretativa: il modello italiano di organizzazione locale della produzione e ancora oggi vitale, ma ha bisogno di accelerare il processo di evoluzione verso assetti organizzativi, tecnologici e istituzionali piu moderni. In tale prospettiva, l’articolo effettua una rassegna di alcuni contributi recenti di ricerca e presenta inoltre i risultati di una analisi econometrica che documentano la capacita di tenuta ma anche le diverse linee di trasformazione in corso nei distretti italiani. In particolare, vengono evidenziati i processi di formazione delle imprese leader, di crescita dei servizi e di evoluzione delle economie di specializzazione in economie di varieta. Nelle conclusioni si mette in luce l’utilita di integrare l’approccio tradizionale dell’analisi marshalliana ai contributi di tipo neo-schumpeteriano sull’economia dell’innovazione e dell’imprenditorialita.

Territorial capital as a company intangible

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to explore to what extent being located in a territory is value-relevant for a company. Second, to understand if a company is aware of, and how it can sustain, the territorial tangible and intangible assets present in the economic area in which it is located. Design/methodology/approach – The study presents an empirical multiple case-study, investigating ten mid-/large-sized Italian companies in manufacturing sectors. Findings – The results indicate that the sampled manufacturing companies are intertwined with the environment in which they are embedded, both in their home country and in host ones. The domestic territorial capital has provided, and still provides, enterprises with workers endowed with the necessary technical skills that they can have great difficulty in finding in other places. In turn, companies support territorial capital generation through their activities. Research limitations/implications – To increase the generalisability of the ...

Apertura internazionale e risorse economiche locali. Un’indagine sul radicamento territoriale di imprese multinazionali1

Questo articolo analizza le relazioni fra strategie di sviluppo internazionale delle imprese manifatturiere e il sistema delle risorse economiche locali, costituite da capitale umano, reti di fornitori e utilizzatori, nonche istituzioni. Lo studio cerca di verificare se e in quale misura le imprese piu aperte alle reti internazionali hanno sostenuto la riproduzione del capitale territoriale nella propria base domestica. La ricerca, condotta attraverso un insieme di casi studio di aziende manifatturiere venete di medio-grande dimensione, mette in luce l’insieme di possibili azioni praticate dalle imprese per favorire la sostenibilita delle risorse territoriali.

L’economia italiana nei sentieri del capitalismo imprenditoriale

Questo articolo analizza i problemi della bassa crescita che l’economia italiana ha vissuto nell’ultimo decennio, aggravati da una recessione globale che ha colto la parte piu dinamica del tessuto produttivo in una fase di cambiamenti strutturali. Nella prima parte l’articolo si sofferma su alcune delle possibili cause della modesta dinamica della produttivita, quali la persistenza di dualismi strutturali e geografici nell’economia nazionale, gli effetti della flessibilita del lavoro e degli intensi fenomeni migratori, le specificita del modello di innovazione senza ricerca. Nella seconda parte l’articolo propone una analisi dei diversi percorsi di trasformazione che da anni le imprese hanno avviato per rispondere ai cambiamenti del contesto competitivo. In particolare, l’incremento di qualita e la ricerca di eccellenza nei prodotti e nel turismo, lo sviluppo e l’integrazione tecnologica nell’industria, l’organizzazione internazionale della produzione, la crescita dei servizi innovativi per le imprese e l’affermazione di una economia dei servizi di prossimita collegati alla salute, alla cultura e all’ambiente.

Italian North-East: In Search of a Lost Model?

At the beginning of this century an abrupt stop interrupted a long lasting development process in North East Italy regions, while the 2006 data show signs of a likely recovery. In this article the main macroeconomic features of the North East region are presented and commented, together with the changes in its industrial structure, its labour market, its international trade flows and system of innovation. Even it is too early to draw any sound conclusion, it is possible that a selection process is going on among firms; trade flows and innovation performances are still not entirely satisfactory, and in the Labour market good employment records are matched by poor productivity results. The tertiary sector, above all in its more advanced and metropolitan features, is on the whole underdeveloped. More research is needed to understand if a structural change is in progress.

Le politiche per i distretti industriali: da strumento "speciale" a occasione per una nuova politica economica regionale

Le politiche per i distretti industriali: da strumento speciale a occasione per una nuova politica economica regionale - parte I (di Giancarlo Coro) - ABSTRACT: This paper analyses how new tools of regional political economy may increase effectiveness learning from the governance experience rooted in several industrial districts. The first step to do it, is try to change traditional perspective in which the concept of industrial district has bounded. To generalise the theoretical framework of industrial district we need, over all, to recognize the function of territory in social, cognitive and institutional building of economic development. Analysing imple-mentation processes of the Italian industrial district law, the paper points out some questions about growth and innovation policies of small firms systems, i.e.: operative definition of local level in industrial policy; choice between leading industry and a wider cluster of activities; different institutional capabilities and paths to embody a collective strategy of local development; how contestable markets, joint action and economic evaluation may come into regional political economy.

Cambiamento tecnologico e lavoro. gli impatti occupazionali di industria 4.0

Questo articolo analizza gli impatti occupazionali della diffusione delle tecnologie digitali di ultima generazione, con particolare attenzione alle applicazioni riferite ai sistemi Industria 4.0. L’idea che le tecnologie di automazione e le piattaforme digitali sostituiscano il lavoro e tanto intuitiva quanto sbagliata. In realta, non e la domanda di lavoro a essere carente, quanto la capacita dell’offerta di adattarsi ai cambiamenti tecnologici e affrontare le trasformazioni organizzative e gli squilibri sociali che tali cambiamenti comportano. L’articolo prende innanzitutto in considerazione la letteratura recente che ha indagato il rapporto fra innovazione tecnologica e lavoro, discutendo poi i risultati di una ricerca originale svolta su un esteso campione di imprese venete, volta a misurare gli impatti occupazionali della diffusione delle tecnologie Industria 4.0. I risultati mostrano come le imprese che adottano tali tecnologie esprimono una piu alta domanda di lavoro, spiegando il 75% degli incrementi occupazionali avvenuti nel periodo.

Enabling Factors in Firms Adoption of New Digital Technologies. An Empirical Inquiry on a Manufacturing Region

This paper provides an analysis on the diffusion of the last generation digital technologies (Industry 4.0) in the Veneto region, one of the main manufacturing territory in Italy. Our attention focuses on factors that enable firms to adopt these technologies, with attention to three main aspects: the human capital endowment, the international openness, and the financial structure. Empirical analysis is based on a sample of firms that operate in manufacturing, construction and business services. Our analysis shows a heterogeneous diffusion of Industry 4.0 technologies across different industries, allowing the identification of distinct technologies frontiers among sectors. The logit regression shows a positive relation between the adoption of digital technologies and the openness to international markets, as well as with a highly skilled and highly educated human capital. The digital users show better productivity indexes than other firms, but at the same time financial performances are less clear. Hence, the firms that adopt new digital technologies have a more balanced financial structure, but they do not show higher profitability ratios than non-users. This result depends on a longer run return on investment and in a different distributive policy inside the firm.

Regional labour market mobility. A network analysis of inter-firm relatedness

Labour market rigidity is known to hamper the proper adjustment of an economy, thus, making it less resilient to shocks. This paper investigates the characteristics and resilience of the regional labour flow network in Veneto, a region famous for its industrial districts and the expertise of its workforce. A unique database of inter-firm worker mobility is used and the made-in-Italy relatedness to other industries is quantified. Descriptive results suggest that permanent-contract workers are more mobile within-sector than fixed-term contractors. The latter are more mobile across sectors. A finer disaggregation of the made-in-Italy industries shows that textile, food and woodwork are highly related to leisure-retail, logistics-wholesale and agriculture. These results can orient policy-making in getting faster labour reallocation. Network analysis establishes a number of stylised facts about labour flow networks, in particular, a hierarchical organisation of flows and a preference for workers to move from low-connected to high-connected firms and vice-versa, i.e. disassortativity. Unlike previous research, this paper identifies clusters of a non-spatial nature, that are, based on the intensity of labour flows. Regression analysis shows that labour mobility, both in and out, is beneficial for firms. However, being located inside labour clusters negatively affects firm performance. Interestingly, when these clusters include MNEs, they benefit. These results combined suggest that variety of connections prevails over standardisation.