The International Opening of Small District Firms. Flexibility Vs. Consolidation in Channel Relations

The following study is concerned with an Italian industrial district that has been studied for a period of 18 years. This has made possible the construction of a taxonomy based on dynamic profiles of exporting firms, whose characters have been examined in their main changing patterns. The results of the research attest the presence of definite district economies along the distribution channels, that allow the enterprises to increase their competitiveness on a flexibility base, in spite of efficiency. The study tries to understand how much this condition, that prevents a radication in market relations, could remain an internationalization alternative model and a complementary behavior compared with those characterized by