| Abstract: |
The aim of the paper is to identify the internationalization models of SME
industrial district firms within a very integrated and dynamic Regional
Innovation System (RIS) of Italy. By doing so, we investigate which are the
strategies of firms embedded in a RIS to access global suppliers and markets.
Accordingly, this paper explores the role of SMEs firmsÕ dynamic capabilities,
its linkage with the industry investments in ICT (information and
communication technologies) and the impact of the utilization of regional
knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) in shaping the degree of
internationalization of local firms. The analysis is based on a survey
addressed during 2004 to entrepreneurs or managers of a sample of 125 SMEs
firms operating in 7 industrial districts (biomedical, ceramics, shipbuilding,
footwear, textile, plastics and packaging) of the Emilia Romagna. The results
coming from a structural equation model revealed factors that impact on firmsÕ
degree of internationalization in the input (relocalisation of foreign
purchases through global value chains) and in the output dimension (export
sales). Some interesting insights on what lies beneath the
internationalization of firms in a very dynamic regional innovation system
like that one of Emilia Romagna are provided. |