Entrepreneurship, Smes and Local Development in the Marche Region
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OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers 2010/12 Entrepreneurship, SMEs Jonathan Potter, and Local Development Alessandra Proto, in the Marche Region, Italy Marco Marchese https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5km7jf7tj6mt-en Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development in the Marche region, Italy Marche is one of the most industrialised regions in Italy and is considered a region of Entrepreneurship, SMEs excellence, not only for its economic performance, but also for its cultural, natural and social richness. Marche belongs to what has come to be called the “Third Italy”: a and Local Development model of development based on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) located in industrial districts. Its economy is driven by the performance of a myriad of SMEs, which in the Marche region, Italy have been characterised by a high level of creativity and innovation in the past. However, the recent economic crisis has highlighted and possibly exacerbated some of the problems associated with a development model that still significantly relies on traditional manufacturing in an increasingly globalised and knowledge-based world economy. This report analyses the capacity of Marche to confirm its strong national and international economic role through a continuous modernisation process which recognises and builds on the strong manufacturing tradition of the region whilst at the same time enables it to compete in the modern globalised arena with a renovated, dynamic, technology-based and green-oriented industrial system. The report provides, from an international perspective, advice on how to strengthen and restructure the economy of the Marche region through the use of appropriate SME and entrepreneurship policies. It identifies major considerations for policy development in this field, assesses the current challenges and opportunities for the Marche and advances recommendations to improve policy and practice in the Marche region. Five main themes are reviewed in this report: I) human capital and the labour market; II) entrepreneurship and start-ups; III) enterprise development; IV) the contribution of research organisations to entrepreneurship and SME development; and, V) governance and environment. This report is part of the series of the OECD Reviews of Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development, which assess, in selected regions and localities, the strengths and weaknesses of the environment and policies for entrepreneurship and SMEs and make recommendations for improvement. www.oecd.org Photo credits: The Marche Region © OECD 2011 You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgment of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to [email protected]. Requests for permission to photocopy portions of this material for public or commercial use shall be addressed directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) at [email protected] or the Centre français d’exploitation du droit de copie (CFC) at [email protected]. ACKnoWledgements – 3 Acknowledgements This review on Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development in the Marche Region has been undertaken by the Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Programme of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in collaboration with the Marche Region. The work was supervised and edited by Jonathan Potter, Alessandra Proto and Marco Marchese. The OECD is grateful to Mr. Pietro Marcolini, councillor for program- ming and budget of the Marche Regional Government for the support and interest demonstrated in this review. The work would not have been possible without the engagement and valuable contributions of Mr. Fabrizio Costa, Director of the Marche Region Industry Department. The OECD would also like to thank Ms. Ida Prosperi, Head of the Area for EU and International Policies of the Marche Regional Development Agency – SVIM who provided essential support and insights during the review. Sergio Arzeni, Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development and Head of the OECD LEED Programme also contributed advice and direction. Last but not least, the commitment of all the interview partners has been fun- damental. Essential in-house support to organise the study visit and finalise the report was provided by Roberto Chizzali from the OECD secretariat and Austin Delaney who participated in the project as a research intern. Ringraziamenti Questo studio su PMI, imprenditorialità e sviluppo locale nella Regione Marche è stato effettuato dal Programma per lo Sviluppo Economico ed Occupazionale Locale (LEED) dell’Organizzazione per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo Economico (OCSE) in collaborazione con la Regione Marche. Il lavoro è stato condotto sotto la supervisione e a cura di Jonathan Potter, Alessandra Proto e Marco Marchese. ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMES AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARCHE REGION, ITALY – © OECD 2011 4 – ACKnoWledgements L’OCSE desidera ringraziare Pietro Marcolini, assessore regionale al Bilancio, Credito e Patrimonio della Regione Marche per il sostegno e l’in- teresse mostrato durante lo studio. Questo lavoro non sarebbe stato possibile senza l’impegno e il fondamentale contributo di Fabrizio Costa, dirigente del Servizio Artigianato, Industria ed Energia della Regione Marche. Un particolare ringraziamento va a Ida Prosperi, responsabile per l’area politi- che europee e internazionalizzazione della società di sviluppo della Regione Marche (SVIM), per il coordinamento e il contributo essenziale ai fini della riuscita dello studio. Sergio Arzeni, Direttore del Centro per l’Imprendito- rialità, le PMI e lo Sviluppo Locale dell’OCSE e del Programma LEED ha fornito preziosi consigli durante l’intero periodo di svolgimento del progetto. Fondamentale e di primaria importanza sono stati l’impegno e la collabo- razione di tutti gli attori locali intervistati. Si ringraziano infine Roberto Chizzali dell’OCSE per il contributo nell’organizzazione della visita di studio e nella fase di realizzazione del rapporto finale e Austin Delaney che ha par- tecipato al progetto in qualità di tirocinante. ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMES AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARCHE REGION, ITALY – © OECD 2011 contributors – 5 Contributors Review managers Jonathan Potter, Senior Economist, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Alessandra Proto, Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Marco Marchese, Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Local diagnostic report Francesco Adornato, Professor, University of Macerata, Italy International review panel • Rudy Aernoudt, Professor of economics, University of Nancy, Belgium (SME development) • Bjørn Asheim, Deputy Director CIRCLE (Centre for Innovation, Research and Competence in the Learning Economy), Lund University, Sweden (research organisations) • Jennifer Clark, Professor of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA (human capital and the labour market) • Phil Cooke, Professor in Regional economic development, University of Wales, United Kingdom (environment and governance) • Ricardo Pinto, CEO of Pinto Consulting, Germany (entrepreneurship and start-ups) ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMES AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARCHE REGION, ITALY – © OECD 2011 Table of contents – 7 Table of contents Sommario in italiano . .11 Sfide e opportunità. 13 Raccomandazioni di policy ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 21 Executive summary ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Challenges and opportunities. 27 Policy recommendations ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 34 Chapter I. Local diagnostic assessment . 37 1. Introduction: a balanced development.. 37 2. Data and indicators. 38 3. Businesses and number of workers ������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 4. Universities and the research and innovation systems. 49 5. The effects of the economic crisis ��������������������������������������������������������������������� 52 6. Regional policies ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 54 Bibliography. 57 Chapter II. Human capital and the labour market. 59 1. Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 59 2. Policy issues . 59 3. Assessment of the region ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 65 4. Policy recommendations ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 68 Chapter III. Entrepreneurship and start-ups ������������������������������������������������������� 73 1. Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 73 2. Policy issues . 73 3. Assessment of the region ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 78 4. Policy recommendations ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 86 Bibliography. 93 ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SMES AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MARCHE REGION, ITALY – © OECD 2011 8 – Table of contents