Francesco Dal Sacco – TeDIS Center, Viu

Aim of the course
The aim of this course is to provide a wide analysis of the importance of local development systems and industrial districts in sustaining economic growth and development from a strategic and management perspective. Moreover, the course aims at addressing challenges and opportunities that the current process of globalisation is rising towards local development systems and industrial districts.

Specifically, the aim of the course is:

- to define the concept of industrial districts and clusters of small and medium enterprises
- to analyse the phenomenon of industrial district both in Italy and in foreign countries.
- to point out the differences between large organizations and networks of small and medium enterprises geographically localised
- to describe the role and importance of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) in supporting the development and competitiveness of industrial districts
- to point out a conceptual framework of industrial districts and their evolution in a globalised economy
- to provide an interpretative model of the potential of industrial districts in terms of product innovation and manufacturing flexibility

Students attending the course should have an economic and management background (i.e. business administration, general management). However the course could be also interesting for students with backgrounds in sociology or computer science. The course will offer a general description of network technologies and applications (i.e. Internet, groupware) from a non-technical point of view, by stressing their impacts on business processes (innovation and product development, marketing, etc.).

Method of teaching
The course is designed on an interactive-based perspective. Lessons mix general theoretical analysis, case studies and experiences. Students will be involved directly in the discussion during seminars organized during the course, where students (alone as well as in teams) will present their homework assigned each week. Specifically, students will be asked to analyze Web sites, case studies, to read articles and to debate about specific topics (see controversial issue) in class.

Number of hours per week
1 x 3hrs

Weekly analytic description
Unit 1 – From Large Organistion to Small and Medium Enterprises: the reasons of the shift

This unit intends to provide: 1) a deep analysis of characteristics and features of small and medium enterprises from both a strategic and competitive point of view: 2) an interpretative model about local development systems and industrial district

- The concept of industrial district and cluster
- An overview of the most important examples of industrial districts in the world

Unit 2 – The evolution of industrial districts: ICT and globalisation

This unit aims at pointing out the evolution of industrial districts focusing both on the impact of the diffusion of network technologies inside industrial districts and on the growing importance of internationalization of supply chains (global sourcing)

- A conceptual framework of the strategic and competitive impact of the adoption of network technologies among industrial districts
- The challenges and the opportunities introduced by the current process of globalisation

Evaluation method
60% written exam (final project)
20% homework
15% class presentation
5% class participation

Readings
• Becattini G. (1991), “Italian industrial districts: problems and perspectives”, International Studies of Management & Organisation 21/1, 83-90.
• Corò G., Grandinetti R. (1999), “Evolutionary patterns of Italian industrial districts”, Human Systems Management, 18
• Lee C.M, Miller W.F., Gong Hancock M., Rowen H.S., 2000, The Silicon Valley Edge: a habitat for innovation and entrepreneurship, Stanford Business Books,
• Porter M., 1998, “Clusters and the New Economics of Competition”, Harvard Business Review, dic-nov
• Saxenian A., 1996, Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128, Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press

Professor will provide further handouts and online resources.

Suggested Readings
• Amin A. (1993), “The globalization of the economy: an erosion of regional networks?”, in Grabher G. (ed.), The embedded firm. On the socioeconomics of industrial networks, Routledge, London.
• Brown J.S., Duguid P. (2001), “Knowledge and Organization: a Social-Practice Perspective”, Organization Science, Vol. 12, n. 2, March-April
• Cooke P., Morgan K. (1994), “The creative milieu”, in Dodgson M., Rothwell R. (eds.), The Handbook of Industrial Innovation, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham
• Crouch C., Le Galès P., Trigilia C., Voelzkow H. (2001), Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise?, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
• Davenport T.H. (1993), Process innovation. Reengineering work through information technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
• Dei Ottati G. (1994), “The industrial district. Transaction problems and the ‘community market’”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 18/2, 529–546.
• Doz Y., Santos J., Williamson P. (2001), From Global to Metanational, Harvard Business School Press, Boston
• Grandinetti R., Rullani E. (1994), “Sunk internationalisation: small firms and global knowledge”, Revue d’économie industrielle, 67, 238-254.
• Kogut B. (1985), “Designing global strategies: comparative and competitive value-added chains”, Sloan Management Review, summer
• Marshall A, 1890, Principles of Economics
• Pyke, F., Becattini, G., Sengenberger, W., (eds.), (1990), Industrial districts and inter-firm cooperation in Italy, International Institute for Labour Studies, Geneva.
• Piore M.J., Sabel C.F, (1984), The Second Industrial Divide: possibilities for prosperity, Basic Books, New York
• Porter M., 1990, The competitive advantage of Nations, New York: The Free press
• Rullani E., Zanfei A. (1998), “Area networks: telematic connection in a traditional textile district”, in C. Antonelli (Ed), New Information Technology and Industrial Change: the Italian Case, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
• Scott Morton M.S. (ed) (1991), The Corporation of the 1990s. Information Technology and Organizational Transformation, Oxford University Press, NY.
• Sproull L., Kiesler S. (1991), Connections. New ways of Working in the Networked Organization, MIT Press, Cambridge.
• Storper M. (1993), “Regional worlds of production: learning and innovation in the technology districts of France, Italy and the USA”, Regional Studies, 25/5, 433-455.
• Varaldo R., Ferrucci L. (1996), “The evolutionary nature of the firm within industrial districts”, European Planning Studies 4/1, 27-34.

Biography
Laurea and dottorato in Business Administration (Ca’ Foscari) with educational training at UCLA, Berkely. Researcher at the TeDiS Center, VIU, where he is involved in various European and Italian projects on Information and Communications Technologies (especially multi-media) applied to small and medium size enterprises (of Industrial districts). Author of “Il distretto tessile di Schio-Thiene-Valdagno” in G. Brunetti, S. Micelli, M. Minoja, La sfida delle tecnologie di rete: distretti Lombardi e Veneti a confronto, Franco Angeli, Milano 2002; “Internazionalizzazione dei sistemi locali di sviluppo – dalle analisi alle politiche”, in E. Rullani, S. Micelli, M. Chiarvesio, G. Corò, Formez 2003. Redazione dei casi di studio.