Does Network Matter in International Expansion? Evidence from Italian SMEs

In order to face the new competitive scenario, Apulian textile firms are involved in a process of change and are trying to adopt a networking approach in analysing the international propensity of SMEs. The case of the textile network in Apulia has been analysed using a semi-structured questionnaire submitted to a sample of family businesses in order to verify the influence of network on their internationalisation process. The contribution that the network can give to the single firm in its internationalisation process depends also on the level of cooperation in the network. In fact, relationships – at least dual vertical relationships – are the key to overcoming size limit and providing value to all the partners involved. The research attempted to offer a better academic understanding of the role of network in international competitive advantage. Future research should be based on cross countries analysis, in order to determine whether or not the set of internal determinants of internationalisation pensity remain stable from one country to another. The findings should also be useful to local governance for a better understanding of the network phenomenon in order to develop appropriate programmes for training and supporting SMEs in the global market. This paper provides a wide analysis of the network role in the internationalisation process in a low technology sector.Internationalisation Strategies, Network Approach

Local Networks to Compete in the Global Era. The Italian SMEs Experience

This study is concerned with the factors that influence the cooperation among cluster-based firms. Theorists have consistently demonstrated the role and importance of economic externalities, such as knowledge spillovers, within industrial clusters. Less attention has been paid to the investigation of social based externalities, though it has been suggested that these may also accrue from geographical agglomeration. This study explores the development of cooperation between firms operating in a single industry sector and in close proximity. The results suggest that social networking has a greater influence than geographic proximity in facilitating inter-firm co-operation. A semi-structured questionnaire has been developed and the answers were analysed with a stepwise regression model.Networks, Inter-Firm Cooperation, SMEs

N=4 central charge superspace at work for supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets

We present the description in central charge superspace of N=4 supergravity with antisymmetric tensor coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets. All the gauge vectors of the coupled system are treated on the same footing as gauge fields corresponding to translations along additional bosonic coordinates. It is the geometry of the antisymmetric tensor which singles out which combinations of these vectors belong to the supergravity multiplet and which are the additional coupled ones. Moreover, basic properties of Chapline-Manton coupling mechanism, as well as the SO(6,n)/SO(6)*SO(n) sigma model of the Yang-Mills scalars are found as arising from superspace geometry.Comment: 18 page

Half-flat structures on products of three-dimensional Lie groups

We classify six-dimensional Lie groups which admit a left-invariant half-flat SU(3)-structure and which split in a direct product of three-dimensional factors. Moreover, a complete list of those direct products is obtained which admit a left-invariant half-flat SU(3)-structure such that the three-dimensional factors are orthogonal. Similar classification results are proved for left-invariant half-flat SL(3,R)-structures on direct products with either definite and orthogonal or isotropic factors.Comment: 19 page

Geometric Model for Complex Non-Kaehler Manifolds with SU(3) Structure

For a given complex n-fold M we present an explicit construction of all complex (n+1)-folds which are principal holomorphic T2-fibrations over M. For physical applications we consider the case of M being a Calabi-Yau 2-fold. We show that for such M, there is a subclass of the 3-folds that we construct, which has natural families of non-Kaehler SU(3)-structures satisfying the conditions for N = 1 supersymmetry in the heterotic string theory compactified on the 3-folds. We present examples in the aforementioned subclass with M being a K3-surface and a 4-torus.Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages, organization of the paper was changed, typos correcte

Heterotic Strings on Generalized Calabi-Yau Manifolds and Kaehler Moduli Stabilization

Compactifications of heterotic string theory on Generalized Calabi-Yau manifolds have been expected to give the same type of flexibility that type IIB compactifications on Calabi-Yau orientifolds have. In this note we generalize the work done on half-flat manifolds by other authors, to show how flux quantization occurs in the general case, by starting with a basis of harmonic forms and then extending it. However it turns out that only the axions associated with the non-harmonic directions in the space of Kaehler moduli, can be stabilized by the geometric (torsion) terms. Also we argue that there are no supersymmetric extrema of the potential when the second (and fourth) cohomology groups on the manifold are non-trivial. We suggest that threshold corrections to the classical gauge coupling function could solve these problems.Comment: 9 page

«Moulin Rouge!» di Baz Luhrmann

International audienceDue sono gli aspetti che mi sono sembrati centrali nel tentativo di inquadrare Moulin Rouge! (2001) di Baz Luhrmann all'interno del dibattito sul rapporto tra musica e immagine: 1) la volontà del regista di dare nuovo lustro al genere del musical e, 2) l'impiego in tal senso delle tecniche e del linguaggio del cinema post-moderno. Partendo dal primo punto mi sono posto il problema di verificare quali siano le coordinate del genere musical e di individuare di conseguenza quali possano essere stati i luoghi di intervento focalizzati dal regista nell'attuare i suoi propositi. Apparentemente intuitiva, la definizione di musical – uno spettacolo teatrale o cinematografico in cui si avvicendano musica e recitazione – è tutt'altro che priva di insidie, soprattutto se ai pronunciamenti degli studiosi di musical si cerca di trovare puntuali conferme nella vasta produzione teatrale o, come nel nostro specifico, in quella cinematografica. Un po' di ordine in tal senso lo ha fatto Rick Altman, che ha affrontato l'argomento in maniera sistematica. Eppure, nonostante il suo contributo, esistono ancora sacche di resistenza e definizioni problematiche come quella data da Gerald Mast, che intercetta nel musical il predominio dei numeri musicali sulle parti recitate – in termini di valore e di maggior peso nell'intrattenimento. Ovviamente questa definizione va bene nel caso, ad esempio, di Jesus Christ Superstar (Jewison, 1973) che è cantato quasi integralmente, ma crea non pochi imbarazzi una volta applicata a The Wizard of Oz (Fleming, 1939) in cui i brani musicali intervengono più sporadicamente e da un certo punto in poi della pellicola. Sulle origini e strategie di spettacolo utilizzate nel musical sembra invece ci siano maggiori convergenze. Tutti gli studiosi e voci di dizionario concordano infatti nell'attribuire al genere delle origini popolari, da collocare grosso modo tra la fine del XIX e l'inizio del XX secolo negli Stati Uniti. La connotazione popolare è da imputare principalmente al fatto che questo genere di spettacoli – all'inizio solo teatrali – nacque, a quanto sembra, per venire incontro alle difficoltà linguistiche degli immigrati presenti sul territorio americano: il commento musicale serviva a creare una sorta di aspettativa su ciò che sarebbe accaduto in scena anche senza che lo spettatore avesse compreso per intero il testo verbale. Ma non solo. Di popolare il musical ha anche le ascendenze artistiche, individuate dagli studiosi forse con un po' troppo di nonchalance in alcuni generi teatrali popolari europei: l'operetta, il vaudeville e la burlesqu

Gauging the Heisenberg algebra of special quaternionic manifolds

We show that in N=2 supergravity, with a special quaternionic manifold of (quaternionic) dimension h_1+1 and in the presence of h_2 vector multiplets, a h_2+1 dimensional abelian algebra, intersecting the 2h_1+3 dimensional Heisenberg algebra of quaternionic isometries, can be gauged provided the h_2+1 symplectic charge--vectors V_I, have vanishing symplectic invariant scalar product V_I X V_J=0. For compactifications on Calabi--Yau three--folds with Hodge numbers (h_1,h_2) such condition generalizes the half--flatness condition as used in the recent literature. We also discuss non--abelian extensions of the above gaugings and their consistency conditions.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe

N=1 domain wall solutions of massive type II supergravity and the issue of mirror symmetry

We report on Domain Wall solution of Calabi-Yau compactifications with general fluxes and their application to the study of mirror symmetry in generalized backgrounds. We address, in particular, to the issue of magnetic NSNS fluxes. We show that the Domain Wall gradient flow equations can be interpreted as a set of generalized Hitchin's flow equations of a manifold with SU(3)x SU(3) structure fibered along the direction transverse to the Domain wall.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of 2nd RTN Network Workshop and Midterm Meeting: Constituents, Fundamental Forces and Symmetries of the Universe, Naples, Italy, 9-13 Oct 200