Il ruolo del distretto nel rapporto fra piccole imprese e canali evoluti
Italian industrial districts, characterized by a high number of small firms, are heavily dependent upon export. As a result, they need to establish good market relations, in particular with big retailers present in many retail channels at an international level as well as in many typical sectors of the industrial districts. Big retailers, who are able to manage and control the entire cycle of production and distribution, may represent not only a problem but also an opportunity for the internationalization of small firms and of the industrial districts to which these latter belong. The paper focuses on the advantages and pitfalls of supplying big retailers, especially if small firms are involved in the process, and analyses the role of the district dimension in facilitating this kind of relations. All present transformations in the district system relations, both commercial and productive, are to be checked, in order to foresee and, eventually, to control future changes and to manage the inherent risks for the district stability.
