Article:  How does a district find new ways to be big? The renewal of the links between firms and territories in the case of the shoe district of Montebelluna

Émilie LANCIANO

Maître de conférences de sciences de gestion
COACTIS, Université de Saint-Étienne

Abstract

This article is a contribution to the analyses of the dynamics of an Italian industrial district of shoe production, in the context of the European economic crisis and of the new conditions of international competition. We describe the development of the exemplary and well-known district of Montebelluna. We observe how the collective organization of enterprises and actors is changing, constrained both by internal and external factors, and how the localized relations are reconfigured between companies and their territory. Finally, the main question is: how does the district find new ways to be big?