A Road Map to the Development of European SME Networks Towards Colla
A significant development in Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) can no longer be postponed in the European industrial world. Although this need has been recognized for several years, recent recommendations from the European Commission have recalled t
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Agostino Villa • Dario Antonelli Editors
A Road Map to the Development of European SME Networks Towards Collaborative Innovation
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Professor Agostino Villa Professor Dario Antonelli Department of Production Systems and Business Economics (DISPEA) Politecnico di Torino Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
ISBN 978-1-84800-341-5
e-ISBN 978-1-84800-342-2
DOI 10.1007/978-1-84800-342-2 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A road map to the development of European SME networks : towards collaborative innovation 1. Business networks - European Union countries 2. Government aid to small businesses - European Union countries I. Villa, A. II. Antonelli, Dario 338.8'7 ISBN-13: 9781848003415 Library of Congress Control Number: 2008932945 © 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Cover design: eStudio Calamar S.L., Girona, Spain Printed on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 springer.com
Preface
Recent studies supported by the European Commission have reported that half of the small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) cooperate with other SMEs, with a traditionally large diffusion of collaborative agreements in countries such as Italy, Denmark, Norway, Finland, an increasing diffusion of similar arrangements also in France, Germany and in some new EU countries of Eastern Europe, such as Hungary (see the report “SMEs and Cooperation”, published by the Observatory of European SMEs in 2003). A frequent motivation for SME cooperation is to have better access to larger markets, a cheaper supply of materials and components, but also a reduction of costs for various services and a smooth and assured meeting of client demands. The same report shows that the size of the enterprise can influence the type and scope of the cooperation: the main goal of mid-scale enterprises is to have long-term agreements, whilst small-scale enterprises want to have short-term benefits, mainly through market-oriented coordination. On the other hand, some obstacles exist: foremost, each SME wants to maintain its independence, and this barrier is an evident cultural
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