Edizioni FrancoAngeli - Last issue of ECONOMIA E POLITICA INDUSTRIALE (1/2012)

Relationships and availability of credit to new small firms

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Enrico Colombatto, Arie Melnik, Chiara Monticone
The paper analyzes the bank loans secured by recently incorporated small-sized firms based on a sample of Italian companies founded between 1992 and 2004. The study shows that the amount of the loan issued is influenced primarily by the size of the firm and the ability to provide collateral, that the influence of the perceived risk is weak, and that the length of the relationship has a non-linear impact on the size of the bank loan granted.

Cambiamenti strategici in risposta alla crisi e crescita delle giovani imprese ad alta tecnologia

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Massimo G. Colombo, Evila Piva, Anita Quas, Cristina Rossi-Lamastra
As the world economy battles a global crisis of historical breadth and depth, NTBFs (new technology-based firms) are navigating in rough seas. In fact, the radical changes in the competitive arena triggered by the crisis are prompting NTBFs to change their strategies in order to reorient resources and capabilities. The paper adopts the dynamic capabilities perspective to shed light on two research questions: (i) What is the impact on the growth of an NTBF of its dynamic capability to reorient the firm’s strategies to deal with the crisis? and (ii) What are the precursors of this dynamic capability? The paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses using a unique dataset of Italian NTBFs. The econometric results of our analysis show that such dynamic capabilities have a positive effect on NTBF growth and, moreover, that these are positively correlated with the industry-specific technical work experience of the founders of the NTBFs, the NTBFs’ presence as insiders in the international markets, their forging of technological alliances, and their limited resources.

Divario digitale e trappola della povertà: evidenza dalle province italiane

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Antonio Acconcia, Otello Ardovino, Alfredo Del Monte
The paper uses an original dataset to analyse the distribution of broadband take-up in the Italian provinces. Although the results should be approached with caution, from the perspective of cause-and-effect interpretation, we point out the interesting fact that broadband technology take-up is highly correlated to factors of wealth, level of education and degree of concentration of the offering, even after checking the demographic and typical morphology of the provinces. The first two factors would justify the alarm voiced by those commentators who fear the emergence of a new form of social inequality, driven by easy access to the new-generation of services available through the Internet.

Investimenti e vincoli finanziari: evidenze da una cluster analysis

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Maurizio La Rocca, Tiziana La Rocca, Fabiola Montalto
Corporate investment is a critical factor in the overall activity of the economic and capital markets. Although the level of financial constraints plays an important role in the investment decisions of companies, the nature of the relationship continues to dominate the ongoing theoretical debate, while the existing empirical evidence is mixed. After applying the cluster analysis approach to a sample of Italian manufacturing firms, our findings suggest that the approach can reveal new insights on financial constraint issues, making it a more useful approach than traditional criteria and measures.

I grandi esportatori in Italia: caratteristiche, strategie e performance

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Matteo Bugamelli, Massimo Gallo
The paper examines the traits, strategies and performances of leading Italian export firms before and during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The sample analysed is based on Italian export firms that reported foreign sales of at least Euro fifteen million in 2007. The companies feature higher-than-average levels of productivity and foreign direct investment and, in the pre-crisis years, strengthened their presence in the international markets, invested more in their brands and customer assistance, and increased the resources allocated to R&D and innovation. In terms of sales, the companies analysed suffered more than most during the worst phase of the crisis (September 2008 to spring 2009), indicating their higher exposure to international trade and its subsequent collapse. Nevertheless, the export firms surveyed managed to keep employment levels stable and made less use of special redundancy schemes (CIGS). Moreover, the export firms implemented effective measures to reduce production costs, re-internalize some production process phases and reinforce the internationalization process.

Linee guida per un'efficace politica di attrazione degli investimenti esteri

Thu, 15 Feb 2012 8:00:00 GMT

Sergio Mariotti, Lucia Piscitello
The increasing competition between governments to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) can be attributed to their prominent role in promoting knowledge-sharing, innovation and growth. The fact that Italy has always been a laggard in such initiatives has further blemished the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors. Based on the past experience of other nations and on the conceptual models advanced in the latest international literature, the paper suggests a design framework for general guidelines that may be of use to policymakers in formulating an effective policy to encourage FDI. The framework combines principles based on the country-specific competitive advantages and opportunities generated by international investments. Specifically, the paper identifies several policy measures and discusses their optimal mix with reference to the case of Italy.