LIBRI DI RICCARDO MAZZONI

Italian sectors of specialization have been characterized over the time by a number of sources of competitive advantages that have been in continuos evolution. This survey aims at providing an overall picture of the main factors that have favoured the competitiveness of our traditional sectors in the past twenty years. Themes such as that the degree of maturity of traditional production as well as the separate contribution of the single firms, of the territorial systems of firms and of the environment in which the firms operate to the degree of competitiveness have been emphasized. These issues have opened the way to the consideration of those processes that originate and create knowledge and of the connections between the building up of skills, knowledge and competitiveness that comes into play. A particular attention has been paid to the "made in italy" industries as they represent the major part of traditional productions. We hope this work will contribute to offer a clearer and more in-depth view of the real prospects opened to Italy on the market of traditional productions.