Understanding the resilience of strategic regional networks (SRN): the case of an Italian 40-year-old SRN

This work in progress study examines the dynamics behind the evolution of a network that could be classified as a strategic net in the phase of birth but that transformed into a hybrid network over the years. Drawing from the literature on network dynamics considering the differences across types of networks, and building on the case of an Italian network called “consortium”, that has existed since 1980, we aim at better understanding the evolution of networks by scrutinizing factors and events, including crises and their resolutions, that led to its transformation. Our study shows that the life cycle of networks is not like a bell-shaped with a unidirectional trend but can consist of different cycles with multiple moments of decline and revival.