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The role of proximity in retrospective: organizations, ICT and human resources in Italian traditional districts? firms

Author

Listed:
  • Paolo Seri

    (Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo")

Abstract

The existence of strong complementarities between ICT diffusion, investment in human capital and organizational innovations has been recently stressed both by theoretical and empirical literature on industrial organization and economic growth. For many scholars, one of the reasons of the delay of Italian industries in addressing rising global competitiveness and improving productivity can be traced back to the inability to create the right environment for the synergetic coevolution of the three above-mentioned variables. This paper tests the hypothesis that the coevolution within the firm of the three variables, could have been influenced by the belonging of the firms to industrial districts? environments. In particular it controls whether firms which have made more use of proximity in their activity express retards or even ?lock-in? phenomena in organizational innovations with respect to the two other complementary variables. After discussing the issue of coevolution for the three variables and the role that district environments can play for the formation of phenomena of organizational inertia, we test the hypothesis of co-evolution between organisations, ICT, and human resources through a survey of 223 ?district? and ?non-district? Italian small firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Seri, 2014. "The role of proximity in retrospective: organizations, ICT and human resources in Italian traditional districts? firms," Working Papers 1404, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:urb:wpaper:14_04
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coevolution; ICT; Human Capital; Organizational Change; Geographical Proximity.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

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