The internationalization process in the small and medium sized firms: A case study on the Italian clothing industry

In this research we use a data-base that reveals the propensity for contractual ventures and direct investments (1051 operations) of the clothing Italian companies during the period 1987–1991, on a national (342 operations) and international level (709 operations). The latter were analyzed with reference to the internal (412) and external growth strategies (297), cooperative (362) and non-cooperative (347) deals. Our analysis focuses on the different strategies that SMEs, on one hand, and large companies, on the other hand, show in the internationalization process. Main results of the study are:

the international growth of the SMEs takes place mainly through contractual agreements (68%), more so than with non-cooperative operation (32%), whereas in large companies the non-cooperative strategies slightly prevail (54%). Consequently, the external growth strategy is very important for the SMEs (72%) and somewhat less important for the large companies (54%);

the cooperative growth is usually seen by SMEs as an expansion both of the commercial (48% of the operations involves commercial purposes) and of the production areas (48% of the cases). This could indicate that SMEs try to organize on an international level the same network model used in Italy: SMEs decentralize their production within the country through networks of companies and industrial districts, whose horizontal connections (among SMEs themselves) and vertical connections (with large companies) provide flexibility and low costs;

large companies' expectations of the Single European Market have brought a great number of international operations in Europe (24%), notwithstanding the notable importance of Japan (23%) and U.S. (17%); on the contrary, SMEs focus on “niche and rich markets” as Japan (40%); but as far as the contractual agreements are concerned, both types of firm privilege the Japanese market: almost 50% of SMEs' international agreements are directed towards Japan (33% in the large company's case);

large companies and SMEs in the middle and high segments of the market carry out more operations than companies operating in the low quality and casual segments;

generally speaking, in Italy there is an urgent need for industrial policies promoting SMEs access to cooperative instruments (“learning by cooperating”).

     

Social exclusion and rural transport: Gender aspects of a road improvement project in Tshitwe,Northern Province

This article presents a case for a reorientation of the way in which rural transport needs are perceived, planned and provided for, with a view to improved targeting of interventions, particularly with regard to addressing the mobility and accessibility needs of rural women. In addition, it seeks to critically appraise the sustainability of poverty alleviation properties attributed to the labour-based road works, especially in respect of their impact on women. It also explores the role that non-motorised modes of transport could play in reducing the transport burden of the Tshitwe community.     

Modeling hard and soft facts for SMEs: Some international evidence

This paper asks how well the use of quantitative and qualitative variables can improve the assessment of companies' creditworthiness and how this result can be influenced by the economic and financial peculiarities of countries. We harden qualitative variable measures to model soft information aimed at scoring microfirms, small, and medium‐sized firms. The structural survey covers Germany, Italy, and the UK in a sample of about 17 thousand companies observed during the financial crisis. Soft facts are determined within the balanced scorecard framework in order to find out the impact of customers, business processes, learning and growth, and financial perspectives. Our findings show that credit models integrating soft variables optimize the risk estimation, but estimates are country‐specific and should be tailored to the characteristics of each economic system.     

Carting in the Northern Province: Structural and geographical change

Throughout the world rural transportation is grossly underresearched. In southern Africa the nature of transport in country areas is only beginning to be studied. Indications are that pre-industrial forms have persisted despite changed economic and social conditions, and that these should be seen as a cost-effective alternative under certain socio-economic conditions of transition to a modern economy. As also in other places, in the Northern Province donkey carting has adapted its socio-economic and technological structure to new conditions; these changes have occurred at a different pace in different localities. The prime aim of the research is to ascertain the degree to which deliberate alterations in the geography of carting have been a successful strategy for the survival of carters. The finding that emerges from this study is that low-technology transport has persisted despite the introduction of modern means of transport and tarred roads, but that it is ignored and dismissed because it falls outside the formal purview of the state.     

Efficient Tax Competition with Factor Mobility and Trade: A Note

This note shows that residence- and source-based taxes on capital income are not sufficient to sustain an efficient Nash equilibrium when several goods are internationally traded, apart from two special cases. With several traded commodities, domestic fiscal policies affect foreign welfare not only through changes in the world interest rate but also through changes in the equilibrium relative prices of traded commodities. In order to guarantee the existence of an efficient Nash equilibrium in the general case, additional tax instruments are required. In particular, destination-based taxes on traded commodities are needed to enable the government to control the relative commodity prices faced by domestic consumers. In addition, in order to shield domestic producers from changes in world prices, the government must levy either origin-based commodity taxes or taxes on the immobile factors.     

Revealing Preferences for Leisure Time from Stated Preference Data

When consumer choice is constrained by time as well as money, willingness to pay can be defined with respect to either numeraire. The two measures can be related formally within a utility-consistent model of choice subject to two constraints. Furthermore, when information is collected on both, the respondent's marginal value of time can be identified. A system of willingness to pay time and money and the marginal value of leisure time is estimated jointly in an application to California whalewatching and whale stock enhancement. The empirical approach can be applied with only minor additions to survey techniques for nonmarket valuation.