El proceso de internacionalización de la industria italiana: el caso del sector de la confección

Our research is based on a data base that reveals the internacional growth of Italian companies in the clothing sector during 1987-1991 period. We processed the data with reference to the internal and external growth strategies, cooperativa and non-cooperative deals. We focused on the different strategies that SMES, large companies and four groups show in their internationalization process. This process involves mostly the rniddle and high segments of the market, where ltalian firms are able to face competition in world markets due to non-price competitive factors. Generally speaking, in ltaly there is an urgent need for industrial policies to be made that promote SMEs'''' access to cooperative instruments ("learning by cooperating").