Authors: Gianluigi Guido; M. Irene Prete; Maurizio Giannuzzi
The present study analyzes the collaborative-informational relation system of specific Local Territorial Systems (LTSs) – meso-structures placed between the macro-level of economy and the micro-level of a single company (Guido, 1999) connected by economic, spatial and social variables – identified in the province of Lecce. Moreover, it pursues the aim to determine their degree of attractiveness and competitiveness and evaluate single actors’ behaviour. Previous studies (Albertini and Pilotti, 1996: Bergman and Maier, 2009: Fritsch and Kauffeld-Monz, 2010: Huggins and Johnston, 2010: Krätke and Brandt, 2009: Lee, Feiock and Lee 2012: Semlinger, 2008) have indeed demonstrated how relation system analysis – defined as the set of information or collaborations exchanged among the actors of a certain network – permits to quantitatively evaluate single actors’ ability to perform strategic actions that allow them to step up the competitive position of the networks they are a part of. The relation system analysis of the LTSs located in Salento has two research objectives: i) evaluation of the considered LTSs’ network structure, carried out by means of network analysis – a “paradigm” directed to the theoretical and descriptive analysis of relation structure (Scott and Carrington, 2011: Wasserman and Faust, 2007): and ii) evaluation of the coordination mode among the strategic actors of the LTSs, carried out by the identification of the prevailing rationality – the distribution mode of decisional power among actors. As far as the first objective is concerned – evaluation of LTSs’ network structure – the following constructs were examined: i) overall network density – measuring the diffusion of relations among actors, that represents a condition of effective functioning of networks as a means of knowledge and information sharing (Soda, 1999): ii) network centralization – the extent to which a single actor has high centrality, and the other actors low centrality, and, specifically, the level of a whole network’s hierarchical structure: iii) actors’ centrality – actors’ importance or prominence as holders of information or influence: and iv) the strength and frequency of relationships – respectively, the extent to which actors consider important the relational links existing among them, and the regularity with which they occur. As regards the second objective – evaluation of the coordination mode among strategic subjects – the prevailing rationality characterising every single LTS was identified, on the basis of the three typologies described by Rullani (1989): i) the subjective rationality, in which a LTS is dominated by a single actor – resulting from low density and high centralization levels: ii) the systemic rationality, in which a LTS operates according to its own laws of functioning, thus determining its own development process – corresponding to high density and low centralization levels: and iii) the evolutionary rationality, in which a LTS operates according to an evolutionary process, due to the existence of different conflicting interests – relating to medium levels of density and centralization.Research method and findings. Four LTSs – Capital, Coast, Upcountry, and Western – were identified through the segmentation of the 97 Municipalities situated in the Province of Lecce, on the basis of their social, economic, and spatial dimension (Guido, 2000) and their specific (industrial-productive or tourist-recreational) vocation (Golfetto, 1996). A close-ended questionnaire, administered to 217 public and private actors, pointed out: i) the occurrence of collaborative-informational relationships among actors operating in each LTS, by means of an affirmative or negative reply: ii) the importance each actor attributes to these types of relations, measured by a 5-point Likert scale: iii) the frequency of these relationships, measured using a 5-point Likert scale. By means of the UCINET software (Borgatti, Everett and Freeman, 2002), indexes of single actor’s centrality, network centralization (in terms of degree, closeness, and betweenness) and density were computed for each of the four considered LTSs. The relational structures of the LTSs situated in Salento show various homogeneity factors. The density indexes characterizing the four LTSs, being slightly below 0.6, reveal a respectable diffusion of relational activities, thus demonstrating a good propensity to establish informational-collaborative relationships. The centrality indexes calculated for Municipalities, Business Associations and Banks – with values comprised between 0.7 and 0.9 – and, to a lesser extent, the centrality indexes for the Province of Lecce and the Chamber of Commerce as well – with values comprised between 0.5 and 0.6 – underline that, in the four considered LTSs, they represent the most efficient modes for the diffusion of information and knowledge, as they require the fewest interpositions. The network considered as a whole – showing centralization indexes comprised between 0.3 and 0.6 – reveals a moderately hierarchical relational structure, in coherence with a systemic rationality: when a continuous dialectic among subjective and systemic forces occurs, the ultimate aim of the development of LTSs is the result of a compromise between them.Main contribution and conclusions. The present study contributes, both in a theoretical perspective and in a managerial one, to the understanding and knowledge of Local Territorial Systems’ relational structure and, accordingly, directs the planning, realization and evaluation of local development policies (Guido, 2000). The LTSs located in the Province of Lecce have the potentiality to reach efficacious operating conditions and reinforce their competitiveness. It would be desirable to foster the presence of centralizing forces with tasks of coordination and guide, and, furthermore, to promote the stability and concreteness of the existing relational ties: the emergence of actual cooperative relationships, and not merely the presence of simple informational exchanges, would make synergic and productive relations possible, in relation to the knowledge and capacity of LTSs to accelerate their own developmental process.
Journal: n.a. (n.a. – n.a.)
Web Address: n.a.
Publish Year: 2012
Conference: Rome, Italy (2012)