Agglomeration, Technology and Business Groups

Agglomeration, Technology and Business Groups critically reviews the reasons for the creation of business groups and examines their main characteristics.The authors demonstrate that any useful investigation of the organization and strategies of firms needs to take the business group as the basic unit of analysis. This premise underpins their analysis of the impact of two structural variables - spatial agglomeration and technology - on firm strategy and organization. Via a new dataset on Italian business groups, specific insights into the formulation of diversification strategies, location choices made and variances in vertical integration are provided. Shedding new light on the influence of spatial agglomeration and technology on the organization of firms, this innovative book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students focussing on industrial economics, the theory of the firm and/or spatial agglomeration.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword by Patrizio Bianchi Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Business Group as a Firm’s Organizational Form 3. Spatial Agglomeration and Business Groups 4. Technology and Business Groups 5. Agglomeration, Technology and Firm Strategy 6. Conclusions Appendix A: The Business Groups Dataset Appendix B: Examples of Business Groups Appendix C: Empirical Identification of Industrial Districts Appendix D: Classification of Manufacturing Activities Appendix E: Classification of Economic Activities References Index

About the Author :
Giulio Cainelli, Professor of Economics, University of Padova, Italy and Donato Iacobucci, Professor of Applied Economics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

Review :
'From the outset, Guilio Cainelli and Donato Iacobucci present original and interesting ideas. . . This is an informative, thought-provoking book that provides interesting insights into the effects of agglomeration and technology on organizational structure and business groups in particular.' 'Agglomeration, Technology and Business Groups represents basic and necessary reading for academics, researchers, and students whose interests include management and the theory of the firm linked with spatial agglomeration. Cainelli and Iacobucci analyze the literature on Italian industrial districts as a clear and internationally applicable example of the business group as a firm strategy for industrial development.' 'This book provides us with a novel approach to understanding the interactions between firm strategy and industrial development, and it can pave the way to entirely new lines of research.' 'I consider Giulio Cainelli a serious, intelligent and promising scholar, and Donato Iacobucci's work is very professional - he belongs to a school of economics that is highly considered in Italy.'