Il diverso modo in cui le piccole imprese misurano il loro successo

The study begins with a discussion of the thesis that Italy, in respect to other countries with similar growth, has a relatively large number of small companies. This is often considered the cause of modest performance of the Italian economic system in terms of growth and efficiency. The paper explains that small companies should not be considered as isolated, but as part of a complex network strategy. In this context, small company performance should be evaluated as a joint product which includes the results attained by the remaining part of the network. An illustrative example of this evolution regarding the clothing sector in Veneto, explains the relationship between small subcontractors and larger end product companies. The extension of the network outside national borders raises some problems about the role played by Italian districts, especially with reference to their social milieu.