Small firms and technological development in the food processing machinery industry: the case of pasta and other cereal derivative machines in Italy

This paper focuses on the Italian firms producing machines and plants for pasta, basic cereals, snacks and bread factories. It tries to shed some light on the role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Italian industry. Even if the high diffusion of SMEs has positively affected the performance of Italian economy during the Seventies and the Eighties, the new trends of technological change and global competition are expected to be unfavourable to this category of enterprises in the Nineties. The analysis of a significant sample of firms makes clear that the machinery industry is in the middle of a strong restructuring process. The industry structure shows a division of labour based on the outsourcing of production, and a process of internationalization focused on exports and not on direct investments or joint ventures abroad. Leading firms are following growth strategies by new investments and acquisitions within local industrial districts. Finally, as far as technological change is concerned, there is a significant increase of process innovations, thanks to the use of electronic components and ICT.