Riccardo Varaldo

Mid-sized manufacturing companies : the new driver of Italian competitiveness

The structure of the Italian industry is characterized by the prevailing of small sized companies and the presence of very few large companies. For a long time a shared conviction was diffused among scholars and practitioners that the strength and the safety of Italian industry were based on the industrial districts, i.e. a system of interdependent and co-localized small companies deriving their competitive power from an effective and efficient division of labor. This book stresses the idea that the new, vital and promising phenomenon for the competitiveness of the Italian industry is now that centered on the mid-sized companies and on the system of their interconnected firms that represent a constituent part of their business model. Mid-sized companies, frequently emerging from the context of an industrial district, that have grown and developed internationally thanks to an original business model that combines the advantages of both the large and the small size. These companies do represent a strong entrepreneurial force that accompanies the district force that has characterized and made famous the Italian industry worldwide. The book analyzes the business models and the strategies implemented by a number of Italian successful mid-sized companies that have registered very high growth rate in the period 2006-2008 and had then to face the dramatic changes of the economic and competitive context. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the phenomenon of the mid-sized companies is reported in the book with consequences in terms of management and industrial policies. The book is structured in three parts: the first part introduces the debate existing in literature on the role of the mid-sized companies, setting the basis for the guidelines and the interpretative framework developed in the book. The second part gives a quantitative interpretation of the phenomenon, analyzing the Italian mid-sized companies according to their competitive and financial performances. The third part of the book deeps into the details of the business models of 23 mid-sized companies focalizing on their: trajectories of growth; competitive and innovation strategies; inter-organizational network, international strategies and positioning.

Le relazioni strategiche tra industria e distribuzione

This work aims at analyzing the strategic dimension of industry-trade relationships, where it is to the advantage of both industry and trade to replace traditional market relations with cooperation. After a review of the existing literature, the various ways industry and trade can manage their relations are considered and the conditions in which such collaboration can take place are also discussed. The paper ends by presenting the distributive model recently introduced by Olivetti, which no doubt can be viewed at as a clear example of industry-trade cooperation.

Marketing e intangibles per la competitività delle medie imprese italiane

Il paper analizza il ruolo del marketing soprattutto nelle sue componenti piu intangibili nelle strategie competitive delle medie imprese industriali italiane di successo. In particolare, si individuano le scelte di posizionamento di queste imprese e si esamina attraverso quali politiche di branding, pricing e comunicazione e quali relazioni di canale esse sono realizzate. Finalita ultima del paper e l’identificazione dei modelli di successo nella gestione del marketing e l’analisi dei casi mira ad evidenziare come a) l’eccellenza di marketing segue a un generale recupero di competitivita che si basa sul distacco dai modelli imprenditoriali tradizionali e sull’adesione a un modello d’impresa manageriale che gestisce direttamente il rapporto con i mercati, b) l’eccellenza di marketing esprime di rado una via italiana al marketing in senso stretto, quanto piuttosto una corretta applicazione dei principi del marketing tout court in grado di valorizzare il patrimonio di risorse cui sono applicati. Sul piano metodologico il paper si avvale dell’analisi dei risultati di 29 casi di studio di medie imprese con performance superiori alle medie dei rispettivi settori (alimentari, prodotti per la persona, prodotti per la casa, meccanica leggera, cantieristica). La ricerca e stata promossa dalla Societa Italiana di Marketing e ad essa hanno partecipato 29 gruppi di ricerca di 21 atenei diversi.

Implications for managerial and industrial policy

Medium-sized enterprises as system integrators Industrial policy Recipes for the future

Institutional innovations in industrial districts

The present essay aims to analyse the nature and the evolution of industrial district firms in terms of their institutional model. It is divided into four parts. In the first part, we observe the presence of certain barriers preventing institutional change in each model of firm. In the second part, some specific institutional and historical features in industrial district firms are observed which confirm the presence of high barriers preventing change in ownership. In the third part, the main paths of institutional evolution of district capitalism are outlined, especially with regard to the internal local system. Finally, in the last part, we suggest some possible implications regarding industrial policy supporting institutional innovations to the ownership of these firms.

Strategic Relationships between Manufacturers and Distributors

The aim of this research is to further investigate the strategic nature of the relationships between manufacturers and distributors (a.k.a. the industry and the trade world), in a context where traditional market relations are replaced with cooperation for the advantage of both the industry and trade. After reviewing the existing literature, we will consider how manufacturers and distributors do manage their relationships and we will discuss the various conditions of said cooperation. Our contribution will be concluded by the presentation of the distribution model recently introduced by Olivetti, which offers a significant case study of the development of relationships between manufacturers and distributors.