Economic Turbulence in the Iron Kitchenware Industry in Italy

Companies in turbulent economies are required to face several difficulties, mainly related to the specific features of an extremely volatile environment. Although a similar, hypercompetitive context can be considered a global condition today, it is not perceived in the same way worldwide. Thus, international development could be the best method for exporting to different locations and getting the best opportunities to survive in this unstable environment. Italy is one of the European Union countries affected the most by turbulence and the financial crisis with a loss of competitiveness compared to other countries in the Union. The economic system has changed considerably, rising the bankruptcy cases and lowering reported earnings. This paper claims to give an overview of the Italian situation inside the European Community as Italy is recognized as one of the most industrialized areas of northern Italy; the province of Brescia is home of one of the two Italian districts devoted to the iron kitchenware industry—an industry in which Italy held a leading position worldwide for a long time. Ten years after the financial crisis, and supported by exports flows analysis, we evaluate the Italian competitive position in this industry compared to that of the country’s European competitors. Export data (inside and outside the European Union) in three years (2007, 2010, and 2014) show Italy’s leading global role in this industry but also the negative effect of the crisis on the country, witnessed by the strong rise of other competitors

Financial Crisis, Environmental Turbulence and International Trade. The Case of Italy

In 2007 United States of America gave birth to a global, deep and disruptive phenomenon, well known as Financial Crisis. Despite the specific overseas location it first appears, the global crisis comes very fast in Europe, affecting several Countries in different ways and threating both Government and the economic tissue of the Nations. Since the crisis first appears, Italy has faced the global economies collapse: trade inside and outside the Nation felt down, with a loss of competitiveness of the Country compared to other EU’: lower earns and the credit crunch implicate a raise of failures cases, and a competitive position loss in several industries. Almost ten years after the crisis very begin, and using Italian data, the paper give a measure of the crisis impact on international trade geography for the Country

Digital Revolution in Small and Medium Enterprises’ Human Resources: The Case of Brescia

The measures of intervention introduced by the Italian Piano Industria 4.0 serve as a support for the whole economic tissue uneasy transition toward the fourth industrial revolution paradigm. Considering the structural renewal as the main topic to consider, the plan encourages and offers economic support for the education of human resources, considered as the backbones of a business. This study represents a first attempt of picturing the digital revolution in small and medium enterprises, qualified for limited resources but well known for their dynamic capabilities and great innovation competencies. A framework for the human resources digitalization is offered, considering both selection of new workers and staff education. Accordingly, data on Human Resources (HR) in a time frame of five years are considered, with the support of a local industrial association in a deeply industrialized area, the Brescia province. A direct survey data is also considered, in order to forecast the human resources digital revolution in the next future. As a result, a needed, ongoing digitalization of the Human Resources emerges, through both training activities (the prominent) and new resources selection; also, very next future shows the so called jobs of the future will have no room for wide development in small and medium industries

Elaboration of a Model of Temporary Cooperation in Tourism’ Destination Promotion A Systematic Literature Review

The literature considers cooperation as the best way for a region to achieve a competitive advantage in global, digital markets, and as taking a key role in achieving the promotion of a comprehensive, sustainable destination. In recent years, the body of research on cooperation in tourism has grown considerably, listing several opportunities for decreasing competitive pressure among local tourism actors, while gaining the superior advantages of collaboration. At the same time, the literature does not suggest particular models of cooperation for the tourism industry, as most are borrowed from the manufacturing industry, where cooperation seems widely used and further adapted for the tourism domain. Through an in-depth systematic literature review, this paper matches the theories on cooperation in tourism with the concept of temporary cooperation, in order to adapt a model widely considered in several domains, the virtual enterprise (VE), to the peculiarities of the tourism industry. The adaptation is considered according to the particularities of the tourism industry, and especially when cooperation involves local tourism authorities in global turbulent markets. A cycle model consisting of nine-stages life was built, highlighting the main features of a temporary alliance among authorities: the pivotal role of the destination management organization, the relevance of information and communication technologies for the VE’s operability, the short lifetime of the VE, and the destination’s overall promotion

A Longitudinal Approach to Management Turnover in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in Italy

Italian small and medium-sized enterprises have experienced their first generational turnover in the 1970s, when the founders have been succeeded by their heirs. Today, the theme does not seem to be exhausted, as much in literature, which strongly affirms the multidimensionality and criticality of the transition phase, as in the entrepreneurial reality. Part of a more comprehensive research project on management turnover, this study focuses on a specific territory, the province of Brescia, chosen for its strong industrial vocation and considered as representative of the industrial landscape of Italy. The study focuses on the small and medium-sized industrial fabric management, sampled in 524 enterprises that met the research requirements, home for a total of 2640 roles. Management data has been profiled by age, gender, position and company size. The details of the sample confirm the relevance of turnover issues to Italian SMEs. Managers longevity is higher for chairman and higher executives than other roles; furthermore, most of the examined people perform multiple roles at the same time. The longitudinal approach reveals people over 70 years old hold an average of 2 positions per person, with a strong correlation between the three most prevalent management roles analyzed. This research was supported by the SME Industrial Association of Brescia

Competitive Networking For SME: A Case Study Of Its Success In Italy

Small and Medium Enterprises have limited financial resources, which hampers development possibilities. For small and medium entities, the ambition toward a foreign-market driven income is on the increase. However, going international seems to be harder because of its peculiar financial restraint. This paper intends to give evidence to an empirical case of excellence, which is emerging as a prototype in the agri-food industry since its establishment: the Agribusiness Cluster Brixia (hereafter, ACB). The Agribusiness Cluster Brixia is a well-defined group of companies highly specialized in technology, the Cluster shares. This company integrates skills at every stage of the supply chain, from farm production to food distribution, storing, and processing. The aim of this paper is to test if it has really provided advantages for the partners, and how. These advantages can be in reducing some competitive costs for the partners involved, entering new markets, or by developing new and cooperative solutions to the customers needs

Is Focal Cortical Dysplasia/Epilepsy Caused by Somatic MTOR Mutations Always a Unilateral Disorder?

To alert about the wide margin of unpredictability that distribution of somatic MTOR mosaicism may have in the brain and the risk for independent epileptogenesis arising from the seemingly healthy contralateral hemisphere after complete removal of epileptogenic focal cortical dysplasia (FCD)

Religious Pilgrimage: Experiencing Places, Objects and Events

This article explores the concept of the Eventization of faith (Pfadenhauer, 2010) through application of three case studies, to identify learning that might be applied to a traditional pilgrimage destination, such as Jerusalem. This Holy City is held sacred by the three Abrahamic religions, and faith-based tourism is central both to the Holy Land and to the city of Jerusalem (Leppakari & Griffin, 2017). This paper builds on research that identifies processes and models that provide insight into the developing concept of the eventization of faith. The work examines outcomes from three different perspectives: - The impact of traditional church-led pilgrimages to places in the Holy Land, on participants and their local church communities. - The successful eventization of the Lindisfarne Gospels as part of their release to Durham University in 2013, and the impact on local historical, cultural and religious identity and heritage (Dowson, 2019). - The shared pilgrimage experience of thousands of Christian women participating in the annual Cherish Conference in Leeds, Yorkshire, held in a secular event venue (Dowson, 2016). In analysing these three case study examples, this paper aims to identify factors that might enhance our understanding of the concept of eventization of faith. Utilising face to face interviews and online survey results, the research focuses on the aspects of community, identity and authenticity. Events enable shared experiences in a faith context (Lee et al., 2015), and so this research develops a model that captures and expresses approaches that might encourage pilgrimages to traditional destinations, through the medium of events, adding insight into the development of the academic concept of Eventization of Faith