Why, where and with whom do you link? The nature and motivations of linkages within and outside an Italian local system

Abstract

Building on Richardson (1972) and on the need of firms to coordinate activities with others in search for related yet different competences, we propose the results of a survey in the Italian Province of Reggio-Emilia (Emilia-Romagna, Italy). Our concerns are related, in particular, with the geography of linkages, their nature, as well as the profile of firms addressing specific types of objectives. Using categorical principal component analysis as well as correspondence analysis, we associate particular groups of motivations with firms' characteristics. Our conclusions support the view according to which the increasing complexity and knowledge intensity of economic activities requires that inter-firm linkages are considered beyond spatial proximity and that knowledge related motivations are associated with specific firms' profiles and patterns of specialisation of activities.