Il contratto di rete come strumento di risposta delle PMI alla crisi: aspetti strategici, organizzativi e di governance. Uno stato dell’arte delle esperienze in corso in Italia

Considering the strategic relevance of inter-organizational aggregation, this paper aims to analyse how Italian small and medium-sized firms have used the ‘network contract’, a legislative tool recently introduced by the Italian government to sustain company competitiveness. Following aspects are analysed: strategic motives that underlie network formation, type of activities undertaken, characteristics of participant firms, modes of network organization and governance rules. These aspects all contribute to understand network efficacy in promoting small firms development in the long term. The empirical analysis is mainly qualitative in nature: it focuses on three case studies belonging to the mechanical sector. Results indicate that the network contract is a flexible instrument, used to achieve different strategies of growth and long-term objectives, while financial incentives and tax reliefs planned by the Italian government do not represent a sufficient driver for firms’ collaboration.