The Italian company beyond the district: Supply network strategies

The paper analyzes the changes affecting the supply network strategies of a mid-sized Italian company in the mechanical industry, born and developed leveraging on strong supply network relationships with co-localized actors within its industrial district context. The work focuses on the interplay between the company’s development and the most significant changes in the structure and in the substance of its supply network relationships. We thus analyze its process of development from a local small/medium sized company to a medium/large international one, aiming at investigating: - the constraints and opportunities generated by the local supply network in relation to the company’s international development and vice versa; - the designing of a local/global supply network; - the reciprocal influences between local and international supply base.