The Italian Network Contract of “Polo Alta Moda Area Vestina”: From a Territorial Net to a System of Excellences

The paper presents an agreement named Polo Alta Moda Area Vestina, signed the 8th of June 2010 by some textile enterprises located in the area of Pescara, Italy. Collaborations activities between firms in Area Vestina, actually, have a long history. These collaborations, in fact, have always been used by local companies for de-verticalization activities, supported by geographical proximity between firms and the complementarity of production. However, globalization, social changes and technological developments have affected the society over the last few decades, making obsolete all those forms of cooperation based solely on geographical proximity and requiring new forms of interaction and contamination with other cultures and with other areas. The newer Network Contract was introduced in the Italian legislation exactly to facilitate the creation of collaborative inter-firm systems, especially among small and medium sized companies, as a complementary pattern to mergers and acquisitions. Thanks to this agreement, enterprises can remain independent and, at the same time, realize joint industrial projects aimed particularly at increasing innovation and competitiveness, skills that usually tend to be inversely proportional to firm’s size. The peculiarity of Contratto di Rete Polo Alta Moda Area Vestina must be found not only in the interesting use of the now relatively new legal form above, but in the specificity of the participating subjects. Among the Contract, in addition to manufacturing companies, two foundations features, specifically dedicated to human resources training in the fashion industry. The participation of parties other than productive enterprises in a Contract Network still seems to be a peculiarity in Italian legislation where, on 523 network contracts signed and 2798 signatories subjects surveyed by Unioncamere at the end of 2012, cultural foundations represented was just 6. In addition, the agreement signed by the companies from Pescara in 2010, continues to undergo changes with the incorporation of a new firm in 2012. The new enterprise being annexed is located in Marche Region and the founder companies of Polo Alta Moda Area Vestina accepted it because it is recognized as an excellence in its specific market niche. The Polo Alta Moda Area Vestina is then turning itself form a system linked to territorial dynamics to an excellence collector for a specific sector, high level man clothes creations, that overcome geographical barriers. Through in-depth interviews with company managers and representatives of the signatory Foundations, the effective capacity of enterprises joined by the net as a support to its excellences will be investigated. The intention is to develop a best practice that will help Made in Italy companies to deal with the expansion of markets and increased international competitiveness without modifying its size, through collaborative and virtuous operations.