Le imprese italiane nelle Catene Globali del Valore: il ruolo dei sistemi territoriali nei processi di internazionalizzazione ed innovazione

This work aims to study the phenomenon of Global Value Chains in Italy, their characteristics and their diffusion throughout the territory. Many studies affirm that there is a correlation between the participation of firms in Value Chains and increased productivity, and that innovation activities facilitate the internationalization of firms and help them to position themselves more "upstream" in the Value Chains, enabling them to carry out activities with higher added value. Business-to-business partnerships and collaborations with universities, chambers of commerce, and other local entities also facilitate internationalization. Using a database from a sample survey of Italian manufacturing firms, a geographical mapping of Italian firms participating in Global Value Chains is carried out. The data shows that Northern companies participate more in Global Value Chains, export more, are more involved in partnerships and collaborations with other local companies and institutions (e.g. Chambers of Commerce), are more innovative, and make more investments in the green economy and Industry 4.0. In addition, Northern Italian companies carry out more subcontracting activities, placing them in a medium-high position in Value Chains, while Southern companies have fewer foreign relationships and carry out less subcontracting, focusing more on product exports, thus placing them in a lower position in GVCs, compared to Northern companies. Also analyzed are the internationalization policies of firms in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, which encourage training, digitization, meetings with potential foreign business partners, collaborative projects between firms and universities, and projects to foster the creation of international supply chains and promote typical local products. The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are also analyzed, observing the impact that the crisis has had on the Value Chains that unite Italy and Germany, and exploring possible structural changes in the Value Chains. It shows that internationalized companies suffered less during the pandemic than non-internationalized companies. In addition, many companies want to increase their level of digitization to meet future challenges. Many governments are considering the reshoring of manufacturing operations, while the European Union is aiming to regionalize the value chains of strategic sectors (e.g. health care manufacturing) within its borders. It would be desirable to aim for the regionalization of Value Chains without going too far in nationalistic policies, which would lead to increased costs and loss of investment.