New forms of international involvement, competition and competitiveness: the case of Italy

This paper deals with a methodological and empirical analysis about the effects of foreign direct investments on competition and competitiveness, within the internationalization process of the Italian industry. Moreover, the paper is focused on the relationships between international production and trade performance of the Italian industry. There is an econometric exercise about the propensity to make foreign direct investments using non controlling interests, and a descriptive study on technological agreements between Italian and foreign firms. Some concluding remarks shed some light on the international growth strategies of the Italian firms.