The regional innovation system in Emilia Romagna

In the 90’s globalisation introduced new elements on the competitive scene. The appearance of new competition in the production of lower level technology, the making of technologies and the increase of commerce in new markets needed a qualitative leap in organisation and internationalization strategies. Bigger companies faced the difficulties connected to this new competitive picture and core reorganisation was based on innovative technology. Smaller companies relied prevalently on operational flexibility aiming at productions being less standardised. This led to the opening of a growing gap in productivity of the bigger companies. The Emilia-Romagna Region in 2000 arranged to re-plan its perception of local development, going beyond its districts approach asserting itself under national law n.317/1991. With such a law the economic importance would be recognised by industrial areas and would let the Region identify these industrial areas in order to allow groups of operating businesses in these areas to benefit from this law. Such an approach was furthermore strengthened by the national law n.140 in 1999. This law distinguished local productive systems at a national level, a general concentration of small to medium sized businesses favouring first time aggregation and industrial areas. Evidence shows a strong specialisation of businesses in every area enabling the union of more complex communal services