Evaluating the role of the territorial dimension in the propensity to inter-enterprise relations: evidence from Italy

This paper is aimed at studying the inter-enterprise relations in Italy focusing on territorial differences. A multinomial logistic model is proposed to estimate the effects of a set of relevant business characteristics on the propensity to relations, using official data sources. The results show which are the most relevant factors associated with the relational behavior (i.e. sector of economic activity, introduction of innovations, level of revenues from sales), proving that the impact of the territorial dimension turns out to be significant, albeit rather limited. The business characterization arising from the model may be useful to policy formulation.