Several recent studies investigate the relation between geographic concentration of production and vertical integration, based on the hypothesis that spatial agglomeration of firms in the same industry facilitates input procurement thereby reducing the degree of vertical integration. The present...

Several recent studies investigate the relation between geographic concentration of production and vertical integration based on the hypothesis that spatial agglomeration of firms in the same industry facilitates input procurement thereby reducing the degree of vertical integration. The present...

According to the last GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) surveys, Italy has one of the lowest rates of entrepreneurial activity among innovation driven countries. Moreover, Italy is characterized by large territorial differences in the entrepreneurial rates. The main aims of this paper are to...

This paper aims to show that the business group – i.e. the set of firms under common ownership and control – is the most appropriate unit to study the behavior and organization of firms and define their boundaries. Particular emphasis is given to notions such as unitary direction – i.e....

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of technology and spatial agglomeration in decisions about vertical integration. It starts from the hypothesis that the business group, defined as a set of firms under common ownership and control, is the appropriate unit to delimit the firm's...

Over the last few years a growing number of contributions have shown that the presence of business groups, i.e. sets of firms legally distinct but belonging to the same owner(s), is significant. From a theoretical point of view, this presence poses the question of whether the group or the single...

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of technology and spatial agglomeration in decisions about vertical integration. It starts from the hypotheses that the business group, defined as a set of firms under common ownership and control, is the appropriate unit to delimit the firm’s...

Cainelli G., Iacobucci D. and Morganti E. (2006) Spatial agglomeration and business groups: new evidence from Italian industrial districts, Regional Studies 40, 507-518. This paper is a first attempt to analyse the relationship between spatial agglomeration and firms' organizational structures....

Vertical integration, i.e. the control of activities along the production chain, is a fundamental issue for understanding firms’ strategic choices and production organization. In this paper we analyze the determinants of vertical integration in Italian manufacturing firms testing some...