Technical change and the industrial district: The role of interfirm relations in the growth and transformation of ceramic tile production in Italy

Abstract

This paper considers two aspects of technical change in the ceramic tile industry in Italy: firstly, the process of invention, adoption and diffusion of new techniques in the industry; secondly, the impact of forces of a technical nature in shaping the industrial structure. The process of technical change is examined in the light of the interrelationships between firms and their proximity. These are crucial elements characterizing an “industrial district”, whose boundaries go beyond the industry defined on a product basis. The industrial district is adopted as unit of analysis of the process of technical change. Moreover, economic, social and institutional features are considered. In this context the historical developments of new techniques are discussed in terms of the constraints to the established position of the firm at a particular time. Among the determinants of the ceramic tile industrial structure, economies of scale have had a minor role. The pattern of vertical disintegration we observe in the industry is - instead - closely related to the technical developments in the industry through the effects of technical change on the product and process specialization of the production units operating in the industrial district.