Inter-firm cooperation as key factor for competitiveness: The case study of an Italian cluster - Il TARI'

This paper investigates the issues related to inter-firm co-operation when companies work in close proximity. More specifically, the research intends to analyse the influence of local industry cluster in developing marketing externalities and joint marketing activities. The present work focuses on the case study of the integrated model and functional activity of IL TARI’, a gold and jewellery consortium in the south of Italy. The primary objectives of the research are the following: (i) to identify whether and how such forms of industrial organisation can offer SMEs a viable environment to bring about competitiveness, technical innovation and sustained growth for small firms; (ii) to evaluate the impact of clustering on the joint marketing activities of individual firms within the golden cluster of IL TARI’. An additional research objective is to evaluate what factors have been driving the cluster’s formation and development and at which phase of the industry cluster development IL TARI’ belongs at the time the research was carried out. According to the research objectives, as mentioned before, the specific research questions of this investigation are: (1) What is the impact of clustering on marketing activities of firms involved at local and international level? (2) What kind of benefits do firms receive from joint marketing activities? (3) Can joint marketing activities influence the firms’ internationalisation process? Although the qualitative and explanatory nature of the research does not allow to enter into theoretical analysis, the information obtained makes it possible to answer the research questions and to expand the current knowledge of marketing externalities related to the co-location.