1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910438256103321

Titolo

Mid-sized Manufacturing Companies: The New Driver of Italian Competitiveness / / edited by Fulvio Coltorti, Riccardo Resciniti, Annalisa Tunisini, Riccardo Varaldo

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Milano : , : Springer Milan : , : Imprint : Springer, , 2013

ISBN

88-470-2589-3

Edizione

[1st ed. 2013.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (202 p.)

Collana

SxI - Springer for Innovation / SxI - Springer per l'Innovazione, , 2239-2688

Classificazione

8,2

Disciplina

338

Soggetti

Business

Management science

Entrepreneurship

Leadership

Business and Management, general

Business Strategy/Leadership

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

""Title Page ""; ""Copyright Page ""; ""Preface""; ""Acknowledgements""; ""Table of Contents ""; ""1 Background and goals of the book ""; ""1.1 In medio stat virtus: the growing interest in the mid-sized company ""; ""1.2 The research and its goals ""; ""References""; ""2 Mid-sized companies according to Mediobanca-Unioncamere ""; ""2.1 Introduction ""; ""2.2 Origins of medium-sized enterprises ""; ""2.3 The Mediobanca-Unioncamere report on medium-sized Italian industrial businesses ""; ""2.4 Distribution of Italian medium-sized enterprises ""

""2.5 Characteristics and trends of medium-sized Italian industrial companies """"2.6 Concluding comments""; ""References""; ""3 A quantitative analysis of the companies under examination ""; ""3.1 Introduction ""; ""3.2 Financial profi le of the companies under examination ""; ""3.3 Panel companies versus Italian MSEs ""; ""3.4 Panel companies versus benchmark firms  ""; ""3.5 Concluding comments ""; ""References""; ""4 Virtuous business models for international competitiveness ""; ""4.1 Introduction ""; ""4.2 The governance issues



and trajectories of growth ""

""4.2.1 Once upon a time the entrepreneur â€? """"4.2.2 The continuous strain to grow ""; ""4.2.3 Sustainable  growth""; ""4.2.4 The stability of the governance ""; ""4.2.5 The positive contamination of entrepreneurial and managerial elements ""; ""4.3 The vital network of inter-organizational relationships ""; ""4.3.1 The mid-sized company and its market network between stability and variability""; ""4.3.2 The strategic value of the mid-sized companyâ€?s relationship base ""; ""4.3.2.1 The ability to maximize benefits ""; ""4.3.2.2 Coping with burdens and costs of business relationships ""

""4.3.3 The mobilization of business relationships between local and global """"4.3.4 The implementation of a management approach to business relationships ""; ""4.4 The dynamic focus strategies ""; ""4.4.1 Differentiation and strategic niches ""; ""4.4.2 Refocus strategies ""; ""4.4.3 Multi focus strategies ""; ""4.5 The new value chain of mid-sized Italian companies ""; ""4.5.1 Innovation orientation ""; ""4.5.1.1 Structured and open innovation ""; ""4.5.1.2 Open and unstructured innovation ""; ""4.5.1.3 Structured and closed innovation ""; ""4.5.1.4 Unstructured and closed innovation ""

""4.5.2 Product customization """"4.5.3 Market strength ""; ""4.5.3.1 The Brand-Communication-Retail model ""; ""4.5.3.2 The Product-Client model ""; ""4.6 Competing in international markets ""; ""4.6.1 Internationalization as a strategic “must� ""; ""4.6.2 Global niches and emerging countries ""; ""4.6.3 The different entry modes ""; ""4.6.4 Four internationalization orientations ""; ""4.6.4.1 Sales orientated internationalization ""; ""4.6.4.2 Efficiency-orientated internationalization ""; ""4.6.4.3 Diff erentiation-orientated internationalization ""

""4.6.4.4 Innovation-orientated internationalization ""

Sommario/riassunto

The structure of Italian industry is characterized by a predominance of small sized companies and the presence of very few large companies. For a long time a conviction was shared among scholars and practitioners that the strength and safety of Italian industry were based on its industrial districts, that is, the system of interdependent and co-localized small companies which derive their competitive force from an effective and efficient division of labour. This book stresses the idea that a new, vital and promising phenomenon for the competitiveness of Italian industry is focused on mid-sized companies, and the systems of interconnected firms that form a constituent part of their business model. These companies, which originate largely from districts and other local production systems, are a strong entrepreneurial force complementing the districts that have characterized Italy and made Italian industry famous worldwide. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of these firms is provided in this book. Business models and strategies implemented by a number of successful Italian mid-sized manufacturing companies are also explored. Consequences in terms of management and industrial policies are provided. A final look at the German Mittelstand gives a useful comparison.