The internationalization process of Italian fashion firms: the governance role of the founding team

This study aims at exploring the process of internationalization in the Italian fashion firms, focusing on strategy-structure fit and the governance role of the founding team in providing such a fit. It does so with a single case study of a leading fashion firm. It suggests that classic deterministic theories about strategy-structure fit in growing firms offer poor guide. The strategy is entirely \emergent" and inspired by the specific talents of the founding team. Evidence confirms the causal link between strategy and structure: company structure is network based and evolves according to the emerging strategy. However, the development route does not follow any deterministic model: Uppsala's model of incremental and cognitive internationalisation, especially in its revisited and network based form, appears to be the more appropriate reference for the case, characterised by creative dynamics that are constantly evolving, following the vision and strategy that are constantly provided by the founding team.network,fashion industry,strategy,founding team,internationalisation,structure

Matching higher education and labour market in the knowledge economy: the much needed reform of university governance in Italy

In the knowledge economy and current public finance constraints, matching higher education and labour market is not one of the main issues in higher education policy sustainability: it is “the issue”. Being universities’ sources of funding almost entirely domestic and in most countries primarily governmental, politicians are expected to ensure that the increasing public investment in higher education is justified by the fact that the benefits are captured by domestic workers and investors. In doing so they must avoid disrupting the international and free community of scholars and students pursuing knowledge, killing the goose that laid the golden eggs for so long. The European debate and frontiers of research concerning the interactions between universities and labour markets are analyzed. The much needed reform of university governance in Italy is evaluated in its premises and implications for the matching of higher education and labour market.higher education,university,knowledge economy,labour market,governance,new managerialism

Higher Education and Local Economic Development

It is an intellectual necessity for universities to be open to participation by scholars and students all over the world; despite this, their sources of funding are almost entirely domestic and primarily governmental. The downloading of universities from national to regional government means that funding is increasingly even regional or local. Policy makers, firms and students, who are increasingly funding universities, are not interested in the development of academic knowledge: they demand teaching, research and services that are useful for local economic development and employability. As a consequence there is a divergence between the aspirations of universities and their stakeholders' needs. Establishing beneficial relations between universities and their stakeholders is vital for the survival of European districts and clusters of SMEs. The research highlights how critical the dilemma is and suggests a theoretical framework for resolving it, through the introduction of a new model of governance for universities and a new concept of knowledge

Business incubators: effective infrastructures or waste of public money? Looking for a theoretical framework, guidelines and criteria.

There is a wide literature about business incubators (BIs), especially about successful cases in high tech and knowledge intensive industries. Despite that, there is neither a viable integrative theory of effective business incubation nor clear guidelines about the preconditions for establishing BIs and their management. Such theory and guidelines are urgently needed because there is increasing evidence in the literature that, despite many successful cases and public policies supporting business incubation, most of BIs are not successful at all and serious doubts have emerged about the general effectiveness of business incubation and the advisability of investing public money in it. Based on a systematic literature review of the poor and scattered theoretical knowledge of effective business incubation, general principles are proposed to decide when a BI should be established and what it should do to be effective. The research is limited to non-profit BIs whose main goal is regional economic development as they represent the overwhelming majority of operating BIs

The role of universities in supporting local agroindustry: the case of the Piceno district in Italy

This paper analyses the role of universities in supporting local agroindustry using the case of the Piceno agroindustrial district in Italy. Emerging countries’ comparative advantages, made stronger by increased international trade and the rediscovery of local traditions and typicality, do not signify that there will be a less knowledge-intensive agroindustry in the future. On the contrary, only those SMEs with consolidated competitive advantages, based on knowledge embodied in highly-qualified employees, will be able to exploit the new comparative advantages made available by delocalization and take full advantage of the economic potential of typicality. Peripheral universities play a first-mover role in training and creating dynamic linkages with local governments and local agroindustry

The local and regional economic role of universities: the case of the University of Cardiff

The paper evaluates the regional and local economic impact of the University of Cardiff, dividing its effects into two major sides: ”expenditure impacts” and ”knowledge impacts”. It reviews the major tools and methodologies available in the literature to assess the two sides. It measures the ”expenditure impact” in the financial year 2000-2001 through a Keynesian multiplier model developed by the Centre for Advanced Social Studies (CASS) in order to compare that same impact in the financial year 1994-1995. It assesses the university’s ”knowledge impact” through two main variables: 1) employment and destination of graduates or ”people impact”; 2) kind of knowledge produced. It concludes that Cardiff University’s graduates enjoy a full-employment and, according to our conceptual framework (Tavoletti, 2005), it classifies Cardiff’s higher education system as ”non-active” positional competition and ”social knowledge” production.higher education,knowledge,university,graduates,regional development,human capital

Il cambiamento nei modelli di governance delle Università: esperienze europee a confronto

Il contributo analizza l'evoluzione dei modelli di governance universitari, con specifico riferimento all'esperienza europea

Higher education excellence and local economic development: the case of the Entrepreneurial University of Twente

By tradition or intellectual necessity, universities pursue a main objective: increasing and transferring knowledge that is internationally relevant for the whole of mankind. But new powerful socio-economic forces are demanding universities to be engaged in regional economic development and their knowledge to be relevant in terms of local employment, university spin-offs and growth. These two objectives are traditionally considered as not complementary or even mutually exclusive. Through a case study regarding the Dutch University of Twente, this article shows that local economic relevance and international excellence are not incompatible objectives: they were not at the University of Twente; they can be reached even in a new born and poor endowed university, located in a peripheral, depressed and not industrialized countryside. This article argues that a strong entrepreneurial vision and the adoption of a different concept of knowledge may be the key for other small and peripheral European universities, in order to reach both local economic relevance and international excellence. The article will contribute and enrich the regional studies debate, introducing in it some higher education policy issues and ideas