The Network Contract and its Influence on Strategic Decision of Internationalization: Evidence from Italy
Selena Aureli () and
Mara Del Baldo
International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics (IJABE), 2013, vol. 2, issue 2, 23-40
Abstract:
This paper analyzes a new legislative instrument designed to support inter-firm cooperation (the “network contract” - a tool introduced by the Italian government to sustain corporate competitiveness in 2009) - to see whether this type of formal cooperation represents a relevant driver of change in a firm’s strategic orientation regarding internationalization. Results indicate that the network contract is a flexible instrument used by Italian SMEs to achieve different strategies of growth and long-term objectives. The authors found that internationalization does not represent the main goal of firms participating in network contracts, however there are a few firms that have increased their business activity abroad after joining the network. At the same time, firms with a previous history of internationalization do not seem to have changed their approach regarding the international dimension. Consequently, the network contract does not represent the most suitable tool for promoting internationalization among domestic firms, although internationalization may emerge as a by-product of inter-firm relationships.
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)
Downloads: (external link)
http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve. ... 018/ijabe.2013040102 (application/pdf)
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jabe00:v:2:y:2013:i:2:p:23-40
Access Statistics for this article
International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics (IJABE) is currently edited by Yun Wan
More articles in International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics (IJABE) from IGI Global
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journal Editor ().