The Role of Research in Wine: the Emergence of a Regional Research Area in an Italian Wine Production System

The process of technological modernisation of the wine industry has increasingly become a global phenomenon involving both traditional wine producing countries – such as France, Italy and Portugal – as well as new emerging producers –as the US, Australia, South Africa, Chile and Argentina. At this respect, the literature (Aylward, 2003; Unwin, 1991) remarks that in the industry the process of technological renovation has been spurred by the consistent investment of new producer countries, as California, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in creating or strengthening research institutions. These efforts have led to the creation of a specialised wine research system. Conversely, it seems that producers in traditional wine producing areas have often been locked in old technologies and methods of production, due to path dependency. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on how old producing countries have reacted to the increased technological competition by emerging producers. In particular we focus on role played by research organisations (e.g. universities, public research centres) and intermediate institutions (e.g. sectoral associations, extension agencies, technological transfer centres) in generating and diffusing knowledge within the industry. The paper is based on first and second hand information collected in Piemonte, where it is located one of the most important Italian wine cluster. There, we have conducted an extensive fieldwork and interviewed several key informants working at research organisations; extension agencies, associations of producers and other associations acting as opinion/lobbying groups. The information collected are elaborated to reconstruct a detailed picture of actors, linkages and processes underpinning the regional innovation and production wine system.

The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: evidence from the footwear sector

One of the most pervasive and disruptive effects of globalisation is the fragmentation of production processes across countries. This phenomenon is the result of delocalisation strategies pursued by firms in industrialised countries to counter increasing competitive pressures from low labour-cost producers in emerging economies. Many Italian industrial districts are deeply interested by this phenomenon. This paper will be focussed on footwear industrial districts. In the Italian footwear sector the increasing globalisation of production is imposing major changes on the organisation of production: · on the one hand, evidence at a national level shows that increasing international competition is spurring a massive fragmentation of production processes through delocalisation of labour-intensive activities abroad (towards Eastern European countries, mainly Romania); · on the other hand, evidence from a previous study of one of the author on one of the most important footwear clusters ? Riviera del Brenta ? suggests that the overwhelming presence of fashion firms and increasing concentration in distribution is limiting producers? control on some crucial activities, i.e. design, branding, marketing, distribution (Rabellotti R., 2001, ?The effect of globalisation on industrial districts in Italy: the case of Brenta?, IDS Working Paper 144, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton). Overall, these trends are reducing the range of activities carried out within the districts. Consequently, as firms in industrial districts enter international production networks, they are altering their traditional sources of competitiveness, which has traditionally come from intra-cluster relationships. This paper is concerned with the effect of globalisation of production on footwear industrial districts in Italy. The aim is to investigate the changing role of footwear districts within international production networks. The following questions will be tackled: which is the pattern of specialisation of footwear districts in Italy? Is there any common trend towards a reduction of activities carried out within the districts? Or, instead, are different patterns emerging for districts according to their segment of market and according to the value chains they belong to? The paper will explore these issues by analysing the pattern of fragmentation of production in the footwear sector at a regional and ?provincia? level, using data on outward processing trade (OPT) collected by Associazione Nazionale Calzaturifici Italiani (ANCI). This will allow to understand delocalisation strategies by location and to answer the question of whether different trends are emerging at a regional level. By matching this information with the geographical distribution of footwear districts in Italy, it should be possible to throw some light on the pattern of specialisation of different districts. As regards the other trend which might impact on the pattern of specialisation of footwear districts ? such as the emergence of big fashion firms in the luxury segment of the market? and which does not show up in the data, primary source information will be collected through surveys to producers in different footwear clusters, to complement the analysis above.

Recovery of a Mexican Cluster: Devaluation Bonanza or Collective Efficiency?

Mexico, as many other developing countries in Latin America and elsewhere, has been moving in the 1980s towards a liberalised trade regime after a long period of import-substitution. This paper analyses the impact of trade liberalisation on the cooperative behaviour of firms located in the footwear cluster of Guadalajara. The empirical evidence shows that cooperation has increased. It also suggests that cooperation positively influences firms' performance and together with a favourable market environment contributes to the cluster's recovery. The study is based on the findings of field work carried out in Guadalajara in 1996. Qualitative information was collected through in-depth interviews and quantified responses came from a questionnaire survey covering a sample of 63 shoe manufacturing enterprises

China's Outward FDI: An Industry-level Analysis of Host Country Determinants

We provide an empirical analysis of host country determinants of Chinese outward FDI for the period 2003 to 2008, using data disaggregated by country and industry. We want to assess the relevance of market-seeking, resource-seeking and strategic asset seeking motivations suggested by the theory on FDI determinants. Our results show that only FDI in manufacturing is attracted by market seeking motivations. As expected, resource seeking is an important motivation for Chinese FDI in resource related sectors, which usually refers to countries with political fragile environments. Strategic asset seeking motivations are relevant for both manufacturing and services.China, foreign direct investment, internationalization, trade-FDI nexus

The Internal Heterogeneity of Industrial Districts in Italy, Brazil and Mexico

Industrial districts have attracted the attention of development economists in search for new models of industrial development. Many case studies have shown that clustering helps local enterprises to overcome growth constraints and compete in distant markets. However, empirical studies also reveal shortcomings of the industrial district model. This paper shows that within the districts there is enormous heterogeneity by size and performance. Even though clustering firms feed on each other, they vary a great deal in the strategies they employ and the growth they achieve. This internal heterogeneity is investigated for three cases: the shoe industries in Italy, Brazil and Mexico

WHY DO RESEARCHERS COLLABORATE WITH INDUSTRY? AN ANALYSIS OF THE WINE SECTOR IN CHILE, SOUTH AFRICA AND ITALY

This paper explores the determinants of the linkages between industry and research organizations – including universities. We present new evidence on three wine producing areas – Piedmont, a region of Italy, Chile, South Africa - that have successfully reacted to the recent structural changes experienced in the industry worldwide. Based on an original data-set, we carry out an econometric exercise to study the microeconomic determinants of researchers' collaborations with industry. The evidence reveals that individual researcher characteristics, such as embeddedness in the academic system, age and sex, matter more than their publishing record or formal degrees.University-Industry Linkages, Innovation System, Wine Sector, Emerging Economies

Regional strategic assets and the location strategies of emerging countries’ multinationals in Europe

This paper explores the location strategies of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) from emerging countries (EMNEs) in search for regional strategic assets. The analysis is based on a systematic comparison between EMNEs and multinationals from advanced countries (AMNEs) in order to unveil similarities and differences between these two major sources of foreign investments into the regions of the European Union. The empirical results suggest that EMNEs follow a distinct logic in their location strategies because they are attracted by the availability of technological competences only when their subsidiaries pursue more sophisticated and technology-intensive activities. Conversely EMNEs share some behavioural similarities with AMNEs in their response to the spatial agglomeration of investments

Location Strategies of Multinationals from Emerging Countries in the EU Regions. LEQS Discussion Paper No. 93/2015 May 2015

This paper contributes to the current debate in both Economic Geography and International Business on the nature and strategies of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) from emerging countries (EMNEs). The paper fills a relevant gap in the existing literature by shedding new light on the location strategies of EMNEs at the national and regional level, looking at their investment drivers and systematically comparing them with those of multinationals from advanced countries (AMNEs). The empirical analysis looks at the location choices of MNEs in the European Union (EU-25) regions and unveils that EMNEs follow distinctive location strategies. Their attraction into large regional markets is similar to AMNEs as well as their irresponsiveness to efficiency seeking motives. Conversely, the most knowledge-intensive investments of EMNEs respond mainly to two ‘attraction’ factors: strategic assets (in the form of local technological dynamism) and the agglomeration of foreign investments in the same business functions. In addition, both the national and the regional levels are simultaneously relevant to EMNEs decisions. The empirical analysis is based on 22,065 projects undertaken by MNEs from three selected groups of countries (intra-EU, North America, Emerging Countries) into the EU2

Chinese and Indian Multinationals: A Firm-Level Analysis of their Investments in Europe

This paper contributes to the literature on Chinese and Indian multinationals investing in Europe through an empirical investigation about their identity, their characteristics and the association between their features and their international strategies. The investigation exploits a database at the level of the investing firms. In relation to the mode of entry, we find that greenfield investments are a more likely option for large-sized companies. Moreover a high propensity for innovation is associated with a high probability to enter with an acquisition and with technological asset-seeking investments. Finally, high profitability is needed to invest in the core EU countries