Formal cooperation and the performance of Italian firms operating inside and outside industrial districts

This paper discusses the impact of formal cooperation on the performance of Italian firms operating inside and outside industrial districts (IDs). The analysis is focused on a policy tool (Contratti di Rete or network agreements) introduced in Italy to promote the use of non-equity alliances among smaller firms. We claim that the impact of both inward- and outward-looking partnerships is moderated by the local environment in which member firms are embedded. The results show that the benefits from the policy measure are more evident for outward-looking agreements that do not involve ID firms. Inside IDs, firms do not seem to be capable of reaping significant gains from the use of formal cooperation. From a policy perspective, our findings suggest that decision-makers should tailor their interventions to the features of the local economic environment, promoting strategies aimed at maximizing the outcomes of formal cooperation while accounting for geographical differences.