 Large and entangled: Italian business groups in the long runAndrea Colli and Michelangelo Vasta Business History, 2015, vol. 57, issue 1, 64-96 Abstract: This article, by using both a qualitative and quantitative approach, focuses on large business groups (BGs) in Italy. It provides a methodology of analysis which aims at re-constructing the boundaries and the relevance of BGs in a national economy in the long-run, identifying a country-specific taxonomy of both their forms and the rationales (logics) for their existence. By adopting an original methodology, that is the network analysis, and by using a large and comprehensive dataset (Imita.db), this article also provides some proxy measures of the relevance of the largest BGs in the Italian economy, something which has never been done before in Italian business history research. The analysis clearly shows the persistence of large and entangled BGs in the Italian economy. It confirms that this particular form of business organisation is neither limited to the less developed countries, nor is simply a second best functional substitute of the multi-divisional form diffused in the liberal market economies. Finally, this article also suggests a research itinerary which can also be fruitfully applied in business history to other specific cases. Date: 2015 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:bushst:v:57:y:2015:i:1:p:64-96 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2014.977872 Access Statistics for this article Business History is currently edited by Professor John Wilson and Professor Steven Toms More articles in Business History from Taylor & Francis Journals |
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