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This paper aims to analyse the evolution of Chinese industrial ethnic clusters in Italy, by focusing on the role of social networks and the processes behind the phenomenon of Chinese worker exploitation and entrepreneur “self-exploitation”.

The case study is a sub-cluster of micro and small enterprises owned by Chinese entrepreneurs within the leather industrial district of Florence, Italy. This research adopts the following mixed methods: a small-scale survey to capture the characteristics of the sub-cluster and a social network analysis to describe cluster evolution, complemented by life-course interviews conducted with key informants and entrepreneurs.

Migrant social capital and social networks play a central role in the evolution of the case study sub-cluster. Social networks play a supportive role in migration, job creation, entrepreneurship formation and the creation of business opportunities. Simultaneously, they enhance the phenomenon of worker exploitation and entrepreneur self-exploitation. Furthermore, the more the business community grows, the more the economic performance of ethnic enterprises depends on agglomeration forces produced by the cluster.

The findings suggest a series of potential policies to upgrade the ethnic enterprises' capacities, to increase their formality and inclusion in the Italian social and economic systems and sub-cluster.

To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to examine the evolution of social networks in relation to the phenomenon of Chinese worker exploitation and entrepreneur self-exploitation in an ethnic industrial sub-cluster.

This paper aims to investigate the distinctive economic and social dynamics of ethnic quasi-enclave industrial sub-clusters and to econometrically analyse the main factors affecting the economic performance of Chinese-migrant microentrepreneurs with a specific focus on social capital.

An interpretative framework that encompasses sustainable local human development and mixed embeddedness is applied to a case study of Wenzhounese migrant socioeconomic quasi-enclave leather industrial sub-clusters located adjacent to the industrial district area of Florence, Italy. Given the complexity of the phenomenon, the research study adopted a mixed-method approach encompassing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The econometric analysis was based on data collected via a survey administered to a random sample of enterprises.

Ethnic social capital plays a central role in ethnic entrepreneurship. The results confirm the relevance of social networks in the context analysed and reveal the importance of ethnic and non-ethnic business social capital as one of the main factors affecting enterprise’s economic performance.

The findings propose potential policies to upgrade the ethnic enterprises especially in terms of increasing their formality and inclusion in the Italian social and economic systems of production.

This analysis contributes to existing literature on migrant entrepreneurship and communities, adding new evidence related to ethnic enterprises and the importance of social capital in terms of performance and working conditions of the community of entrepreneurs.

This paper aims to map literature about innovation capabilities (IC) taking into consideration industrial clusters to propose a conceptual framework that synthetizes the main factors and subfactors responsible for ICs; in addition, the paper also proposes a research agenda.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was performed; academic papers were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.

The authors provide a descriptive analysis followed by a thematic synthesis, in which we present 05 enablers and 20 critical factors (CF) of IC in clusters. The proposed framework emphasizes what needs to be done or improved to increase IC in cluster-based companies. Based on this systematic review and the framework proposed, the authors identified opportunities for future research.

The enablers and CF identified through SLR were not validated empirically. Therefore, future studies on the current topic are required to validate the framework by investigating which factors are more relevant to cluster-based companies that intend to improve their innovative performance.

The present findings have important implications for the identification of the factors and subfactors that may contribute to the development of IC, which may help managers and decision-makers in recognizing which factors are the most responsible for business innovation.

The paper identifies enablers related to the development of IC in industrial cluster and presents a research agenda. The framework represents a guideline for companies to achieve better innovation performance.

While entrepreneurship may be driven by personal interests and lifestyle choices, entrepreneurial actions are not only economically driven opportunity-searching processes but also enactments of social transformation that may or may not lead to socioeconomic benefits. We advance that exploring these entrepreneurial processes can inform a theory of the firm that may explain how socioeconomic processes shape the socioeconomic environment of communities while serving individuals. This article discusses several understandings of the firm, as theorized in extant literature. Guided by these different conceptualizations, we present a case study of an artist and artisan cluster in Western Massachusetts to demonstrate various understandings of entrepreneurial processes. By way of conclusion, we develop the idea of the firm as a geographically embedded relational understanding aiding entrepreneurs to achieve personal goals while coconstructing their local environment.

This paper aims to explore if firms located in industrial districts (IDs) have different adoption paths concerning Industry 4.0 technologies and get different results with respect to other similar firms located outside IDs.

The study is based on a quantitative analysis related to an original data set of 206 Italian manufacturing firms specializing in made in Italy industries and adopting Industry 4.0 technologies. A case study of a district firm is also presented to explain the rationale of investment strategies and results obtained.

The analysis shows that there are differences between district and non-district firms when Industry 4.0 technology investments are concerned (higher investment rate in big data/cloud and augmented reality for district firms than non-district ones). In contrast to a breakthrough view of the fourth industrial revolution, the study suggests that 4.0 technologies emphasize the peculiarities and competitiveness factors typical of the district model in terms of customization and flexibility. There are differences in the motivations of adoption (product diversification for district firms vs productivity enhancement for non-district firms) and in the results achieved.

The paper is one of the first attempts to empirically explore the technological innovation paths related to Industry 4.0 within IDs, therefore, contributing to the debate on the possible evolution of the district model

This paper aims to provide a contribution on the diffusion of Industry 4 (I4.0)-related knowledge in industrial districts (IDs). The main goal is to examine the dissemination of I4.0 knowledge, exploring the main mechanisms for its spreading and highlighting the main factors shaping such processes. Focus is on dissemination processes in IDs active in traditional industries, which could represent the “periphery” of I4.0 application context.

The methodology is qualitative. Notably, this paper presents a case study of the Pesaro ID specialized in furniture/woodworking machinery sector. A total of 18 in-depth one-to-one interviews have been conducted with relevant informants from a variety of organizations within the cluster: companies, institutions and universities.

The complexity of I4.0 requires a combination of traditional mechanisms with innovative ones within IDs characterized by the emergence of new players, activities and resources. These changes led to three main evolving patterns: the horizon of I4.0 upgrading shows blurred boundaries in terms of sectors and geographic location, the I4.0 diffusion appears fragmented in terms of initiatives and projects by both firms and institutions and the dissemination of I4.0 knowledge pushes ID firms and institutions to pursue deliberate initiatives leading to innovative forms of “collective” cooperation.

This paper contributes to both theory and practice. From the theoretical point of view, this paper contributes to the literature on innovation in IDs and clusters on two interrelated grounds. First, it provides further research on I4.0 and IDs and clusters. Second, it contributes to the stream of research on knowledge creation and diffusion in IDs and clusters, providing empirically based insights over emerging local learning processes in IDs. Moreover, relevant managerial and policy implications stem from the analysis.

Within the theoretical framework of global value chains (GVCs), much importance has been given to industrial districts (IDs) and their role as localized manufacturing systems. The regionalization of GVC has opened new questions on the location of manufacturing activities and the potential consequences at the ID level. The reshoring phenomenon challenges internationalization processes, changing the configuration in trade dynamics for IDs. This paper aims to investigate which are the main internationalization patterns followed by district small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the perspective of the regionalization of GVCs. This will help both practitioners and policymakers to better understand internationalization trajectories aimed at sustaining the economic development of district firms and territories.

The analysis has been conducted using a survey carried out on 210 ID SMEs in the furniture, mechanics and fashion industries located in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, in northeastern Italy. Moreover, data released from the Italian Customs Agency have been merged to detect the trends of interviewed firms’ internationalization between 2005 and 2019.

The results highlight how the geography of internationalization has changed over time, in particular following the regionalization of the GVCs. There are also differences among the industry specializations of IDs. This could be attributable to the strategy pursued by each firm to control the competition both in the domestic market and abroad, also in relation to GVC lead firms’ location strategies.

This paper applies new data on the analysis of ID SMEs related to international transactions over a long period of time. In doing this, this paper adds new insights to the GVC literature and future policies to be implemented to foster the participation of district firms in the global scenario.