In the last decade, in a context of growing international competition, major car makers adopted s... more In the last decade, in a context of growing international competition, major car makers adopted strategies of reduction of vertical integration and rationalization of the supplier system. Accordingly, a reorganization of the supply chain along hierarchical lines and a sharp reduction in the number of suppliers took place; car makers and component suppliers are developing more cooperative, long-term relationships, often by sharing R&D, design and engineering activities. In Piedmont, whose specialization in automotive industry is still high, the supply chain has undergone analogous transformations: the number of suppliers of the FIAT Group has remarkably reduced; several firms, expecially middle-big sized companies, have undertaken processes of diversification of supply relationships and strategic repositioning in international markets. In order to assess the effectivenes of such strategies, we have carried out an analysis based on macroeconomic indicators and balance sheet data of ab...
ABSTRACT Competition and transparency in public procurement: a survey - Italy suffers of a chroni... more ABSTRACT Competition and transparency in public procurement: a survey - Italy suffers of a chronic lack of modern infrastructures. The market for public works is as a whole not transparent and inefficient in terms of costs and time of completion of the works; greater competition could improve the situation. The limitations to greater competition in the market for public works are manifold: i) asymmetric information, which has strong effects on the procedures for the firms’ choice and on works contracts; ii) barriers to entry, due to the fragmented supply structure (many small firms) operating in segmented local markets. The analysis, based on direct surveys on local authorities and construction firms, highlights additional problems: i) the fragmentation of demand for local public works; very often the small local authorities do not have project expertise and the ability of implementing the necessary coordination with other local authorities; ii) an inefficient public monitoring on work progress; iii) a lack of reputational requirements, that take into account past behaviour, for the potential public works producers. JEL: D44, D74, D81, H54, H57 Keywords: public procurement, asymmetric information
ABSTRACT Italian Abstract: Nella fase prolungata di bassa crescita economica che caratterizza l’e... more ABSTRACT Italian Abstract: Nella fase prolungata di bassa crescita economica che caratterizza l’economia italiana il tema delle start-up innovative e degli strumenti che possono favorirne la nascita e lo sviluppo assume particolare rilievo. Gli incubatori d’impresa rappresentano una delle soluzioni proposte dalla letteratura economica e realizzate concretamente in numerosi paesi per promuovere le nuove imprese ad alto tasso di innovazione. Questo lavoro, avvalendosi di un’indagine sul campo condotta su un ampio numero di incubatori italiani e su un campione di imprese che hanno intrapreso il processo di incubazione, delinea le principali caratteristiche dell’attività di incubazione nel nostro paese. Gli incubatori italiani hanno dimensioni mediamente contenute e sono largamente dipendenti dai contributi pubblici. Essi offrono prevalentemente servizi di natura logistica e, con minore frequenza, servizi a più alto valore aggiunto di consulenza e di networking. Secondo le valutazioni delle imprese, gli incubatori sono uno strumento utile, anche se non fondamentale, per il successo delle nuove iniziative imprenditoriali. English Abstract: The Italian economy has suffered from structural problems for the last fifteen years, which have weakened its competitiveness. The innovation gap, by international standards, is one of those problems. Business incubators are one of the solutions proposed in the economic literature and put into practice in many countries in order to increase the birth and survival rates of extremely innovative firms. With the help of an empirical survey of a highly representative sample of Italian business incubators and a significant subset of incubated start-ups, this paper draws an institutional and functional map of business incubators in Italy. Italian incubators are mostly small and heavily dependent on public funding. They mainly provide logistical services, less frequently higher value added ones like consulting and networking. According to the firms interviewed, the role played by incubators is on average useful but not essential for the success of the start-up.
In the last decade, in a context of growing international competition, major car makers adopted s... more In the last decade, in a context of growing international competition, major car makers adopted strategies of reduction of vertical integration and rationalization of the supplier system. Accordingly, a reorganization of the supply chain along hierarchical lines and a sharp reduction in the number of suppliers took place; car makers and component suppliers are developing more cooperative, long-term relationships, often by sharing R&D, design and engineering activities. In Piedmont, whose specialization in automotive industry is still high, the supply chain has undergone analogous transformations: the number of suppliers of the FIAT Group has remarkably reduced; several firms, expecially middle-big sized companies, have undertaken processes of diversification of supply relationships and strategic repositioning in international markets. In order to assess the effectivenes of such strategies, we have carried out an analysis based on macroeconomic indicators and balance sheet data of ab...
ABSTRACT Competition and transparency in public procurement: a survey - Italy suffers of a chroni... more ABSTRACT Competition and transparency in public procurement: a survey - Italy suffers of a chronic lack of modern infrastructures. The market for public works is as a whole not transparent and inefficient in terms of costs and time of completion of the works; greater competition could improve the situation. The limitations to greater competition in the market for public works are manifold: i) asymmetric information, which has strong effects on the procedures for the firms’ choice and on works contracts; ii) barriers to entry, due to the fragmented supply structure (many small firms) operating in segmented local markets. The analysis, based on direct surveys on local authorities and construction firms, highlights additional problems: i) the fragmentation of demand for local public works; very often the small local authorities do not have project expertise and the ability of implementing the necessary coordination with other local authorities; ii) an inefficient public monitoring on work progress; iii) a lack of reputational requirements, that take into account past behaviour, for the potential public works producers. JEL: D44, D74, D81, H54, H57 Keywords: public procurement, asymmetric information
ABSTRACT Italian Abstract: Nella fase prolungata di bassa crescita economica che caratterizza l’e... more ABSTRACT Italian Abstract: Nella fase prolungata di bassa crescita economica che caratterizza l’economia italiana il tema delle start-up innovative e degli strumenti che possono favorirne la nascita e lo sviluppo assume particolare rilievo. Gli incubatori d’impresa rappresentano una delle soluzioni proposte dalla letteratura economica e realizzate concretamente in numerosi paesi per promuovere le nuove imprese ad alto tasso di innovazione. Questo lavoro, avvalendosi di un’indagine sul campo condotta su un ampio numero di incubatori italiani e su un campione di imprese che hanno intrapreso il processo di incubazione, delinea le principali caratteristiche dell’attività di incubazione nel nostro paese. Gli incubatori italiani hanno dimensioni mediamente contenute e sono largamente dipendenti dai contributi pubblici. Essi offrono prevalentemente servizi di natura logistica e, con minore frequenza, servizi a più alto valore aggiunto di consulenza e di networking. Secondo le valutazioni delle imprese, gli incubatori sono uno strumento utile, anche se non fondamentale, per il successo delle nuove iniziative imprenditoriali. English Abstract: The Italian economy has suffered from structural problems for the last fifteen years, which have weakened its competitiveness. The innovation gap, by international standards, is one of those problems. Business incubators are one of the solutions proposed in the economic literature and put into practice in many countries in order to increase the birth and survival rates of extremely innovative firms. With the help of an empirical survey of a highly representative sample of Italian business incubators and a significant subset of incubated start-ups, this paper draws an institutional and functional map of business incubators in Italy. Italian incubators are mostly small and heavily dependent on public funding. They mainly provide logistical services, less frequently higher value added ones like consulting and networking. According to the firms interviewed, the role played by incubators is on average useful but not essential for the success of the start-up.
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Papers by Roberto Cullino