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INNOVATING REGIONS IN EUROPE RITTS-RIS Network Industrial Regions Subgroup May 18-19, 2000

INNOVATING REGIONS IN EUROPE RITTS-RIS Network Industrial Regions Subgroup May 18-19, 2000. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs : Prof. Michel Lacave, Univ.of Montpellier RITTS East Lombardy Process Consultant Lacave Allemand & Associés. FRAMEWORK OF THE PRESENTATION.

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INNOVATING REGIONS IN EUROPE RITTS-RIS Network Industrial Regions Subgroup May 18-19, 2000

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  1. INNOVATING REGIONS IN EUROPERITTS-RIS NetworkIndustrial Regions SubgroupMay 18-19, 2000 RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs : Prof. Michel Lacave, Univ.of Montpellier RITTS East Lombardy Process Consultant Lacave Allemand & Associés

  2. FRAMEWORK OF THE PRESENTATION • RITTS EAST LOMBARDY : main features and main issues • RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs :starting from our experience in Ritts East Lombardy and other RITTS-RIS + TRIP Lacave Allemand & Associés has been / is consultant for : RITTS-RIS Thessaly, Northern EU, Tuscany, Oslo, East Lombardy, Lazio + TRIP Northern EU and RIS+ Northern EU Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  3. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN FEATURES • Exceptional situation : a group of 4 provinces, part of the Region Lombardy, took the initiative of starting a common strategic approach to innovation (Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Mantova) - not financially supported by the Commission, but part of RITTS-RIS network • Within Lombardy, there was a first Ritts : Ritts Milano for the Metropolis where are concentrated the major RTD resources Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  4. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN FEATURES • Ritts East Lombardy : how to conceive and develop a Regional Innovation Strategy while main RTD resources are concentrated in Milano - how to tap these resources (ex.: Politecnico) and strengthen the local resources where they exist • Local resources : mainly technological = how to go upstream (science-based innovation) + business intelligence • Ritts East Lombardy has given ideas to West Lombardy for starting the same exercise Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  5. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN FEATURES Industrial Context : • Industrial Districts : calze (stockings), pioppo (wood for packaging industry), textile and clothing, metal products, metallurgy, metal carpentry, agricultural machinery • Potential for supporting « clustering » : agrofood (wine, dairy products and cheese), gastronomy (agrofood « niches » = produits de terroir), construction (domotics, restauration of heritage, office and industrial buildings) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  6. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN FEATURES Support services to companies : • Centro Servizi Calze, Centro Ricerche Imballaggi Legno • Agenzia Innovazione e Sviluppo (MN) • Lumetel, INN.TEC, TECNIQUAL, AQM, CO.SVIM, PROBRIXIA, SECAS, SIAB • MIP-Politecnico • CESTEC • etc. Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  7. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN ISSUES • Moving from support to incremental innovation (centri servizi settoriali) to support to strategic innovation (knowledge-based economy) including new products and new markets • Exchange of experiences and best practices at intra-regional level (between provinces involved) • Development of professional practices regarding innovation and technology transfer based on common standards Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  8. RITTS EAST LOMBARDYMAIN ISSUES • Strenghtening and/or development of a capacity for developing concrete and operational projects (progettualità) • Create and support as a major Ritts instrument sectoral « roundtables » (tavoli di interazione) : construction, agrofood • Give mid-term stability to the co-operation network created and supported through the Ritts exercise Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  9. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs • Critical issues for industrial districts in Italy (Onida, 1999) : « High product and process standards are not matched by efficiency and effectiveness in the stages that enhance the value of a product as it moves along the path to the final user or consumer : logistics, wholesale and retail distribution, establishing brand value and image, financing packages, e-commerce, after-sales assistance, etc. « Along with the growing incidence of services such as research, design and supply incorporated in products, the integration of markets and the spread of new information technologies are increasing the weight of services in relation to the final value of the product sold » Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  10. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs • Critical issues for industrial districts in Italy (Onida, 1999) : « the industrial districts will have to attain new equilibria in the face of growing competition from low-wage emerging countries (Eastern European and Mediterranean). Part of the solution lies in more outward processing and the integration of semi-finished or finished goods into the range of products in which districts specialize… « Maintaining command of the chain of production, esp. of its high value-added phases, in a framework of integrated logistics and quality control with suppliers calls for a major effort of managerial and organizational innovation by districts made up of family-owned SMEs, many of them with a recent record of explosive growth » Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  11. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs • Critical issues for industrial districts in Italy (Onida, 1999) : « Local SMEs must hold and improve advanced positions in world markets as specialized producers; they must avoid turning themselves into exclusive suppliers of the leading firms… « the growing scientific basis of innovation, the increasingly close relationship between technology and design, stringent supranational technical standards for product certification, the constant, massive investment in applied research by Italian industry ’s major competitors in Europe and some of the dynamic late-comers : all these factors heighten the need to sustain and accelerate the drive for process and product innovation as a decisive asset in competition » Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  12. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs Consequences = need for : a) Strategic Innovation (tap scientific resources) b) Going International (which is much broader than simply exporting) :  investing abroad  develop partnerships and joint-ventures, subcontracting when necessary  learn to tap S&T resources at EU/int ’l level (see a) above) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  13. This need corresponds to major challenges for European SMEs : • Single Market • Globalisation Process, especially with new competitors in ECE and new industrialised countries • An Accelerating Pace of Innovation (passage from an industrial to a knowledge economy)  Change of culture and determined orientation toward internationalisation • Industrial Districts are concerned as well as all local clusters/groups of SMEs (local systems of production) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  14. Even the most successful model of SMEs development, i.e. the « industrial district », needs to address these challenges (see Onida) There exists a significant number of EU programmes facilitating int ’l.ion of SMEs : RECITE, RITTS, TRIP, plus new direct interest of DG Enterprise At the present time, 2 main features have to be stressed : Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  15. RITTS AND INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMEs : KEY ISSUES • A strategy of « international clustering » has become a requisite for future successful achievements concerning SMEs and even the most admired « model » of the industrial district • RITTS could support starting « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension when adapted to regional contexts • We shall try to list the conditions of feasibility of « virtual clusters » • and propose a short methodology Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  16. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • 2 examples of Italian Industrial Districts : • a mid size city : home furniture • Bologna (packaging machines) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  17. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Mid size city (home furniture) : • all visible signs of an affluent and wealthy community • 1 entrepreneur for every 8 workers • very low employment if any • high profits • high level of exports Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  18. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Mid size city (home furniture) - Major challenges in the mid-term (3-5 years) : • change of generation with problems of succession • innovation : sectoral technological centers are taken in routine with weak opening to international collaborations, except for profiting by EU money • internationalisation : essentially conceived as equal to successful exports, which is today a very limited approach Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  19. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Mid size city (home furniture) : • Historically, there was a market dramatic change : from selling to southern Italy customers, SMEs had to re-orientate sales to exports to Russia and ECE countries, which they did successfully as far as volume of exports is concerned • But they are exporting more and more through German intermediary distributors, being at high risk of losing control and knowledge of end-user market, so becoming « peripheral subcontractors or suppliers » Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  20. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Bologna « Packaging Valley » born in the 1920 ’s - Key factors of success : • tight vertical links between independent companies which adopted coordination as the fundamental model of inter-firm collaboration • adoption of state-of-the-art technologies • use of flexible production methods and systems • paying permanent attention to consumers ’ needs and demand Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  21. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Bologna « Packaging Valley » ’s major challenge = a knowledge economy : • networking activities paving the way for business ecosystems in which the fiercest competitors can become partners • an opening-up to external partners, facilitated by ICT which reduce geographical distance to zero, leading to constant reshaping of business relationships with more and more outsourcing Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  22. 1. SMEs, Industrial Districts and « International Clustering » • Bologna « Packaging Valley » ’s major challenge = a knowledge economy (contd.): • creation of an « information hub », more or less formalised, in order to develop and share a capital of sophisticated knowledge at int ’l level • in consequence, the type of inter-firm collaboration used until now is no more sufficient : create/strengthen horizontal links for developing leading-edge RTD in a context of co-opetition, able to involve foreign partners Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  23. 2. Creation of « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension • Objective :addressing the double challenge of globalisation and passage to a knowledge economy • Instrument :create and develop - or participate to - « virtual clusters » with an int ’l dimension • « virtual » = they group various partners from different regions/countries which share similar, though eventually diversified, technological challenges and problems, economic and market targets Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  24. 2. Creation of « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension • FUNCTIONS : • Information Hub : economic and technological intelligence at world level (E-Portal) • Developing common RTD activities, especially in relation to EU RTD programmes (FP5) - this function may include the creation of « RTD and innovation boutiques » making highly focused research and commercialising research, know how and expertise • Developing business opportunities at EU/int ’l level Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  25. 2. Creation of « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension • FUNCTIONS (contd.) : • Fostering new innovative businesses in the industrial sectors concerned by the cluster as specific markets and market niches emerge and are identified • Joint bidding to nat ’l, EU and int ’l calls for tenders • Participating systematically to existing networks which have some interest for the development of the cluster  Horizontal links of co-opetition between partners at EU/int ’l level with a local leadership (organisation/authority which takes the initiative) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  26. 2. Creation of « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension • Requirements : • interest and commitment of the local community which takes the initiative • appropriate selection of the target of the cluster (bottom up) • good technological level of local companies and/or excellence of the academic community in the related scientific and technological fields Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  27. 2. Creation of « virtual clusters » with a local basis and a global dimension • Requirements (contd.) : • presence of a critical mass of applied skills • rely on centri servizi, technological poles, STPs which have a field hands-on experience • fluidity of communication and mutual trust between partners • perspectives of sharing an increased added value among all partners in the mid/long-term through a win-win game Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  28. « VIRTUAL CLUSTERS » = a higher stage of internationalisation of SMEs, already taking place in some sectors (esp. science-based) • model presented to DG Enterprise in 2 pilot-studies in which Lacave Allemand & Associés took a major part - has been welcome (intra-EU and EU-MEDA countries) Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  29. 3. Conditions of feasibility of « virtual clusters » : • Conditions of feasibility : • a) a supporting organisation/person dedicated to managing the network (apart from the partner-organisations - it has to be proactive and multilingual, promoting all the incoming opportunities of developing the network activities and constantly searching for other, ensuring a clear distribution of the tasks to be performed Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  30. 3. Conditions of feasibility of « virtual clusters » : • Conditions of feasibility (contd.) : • b) follow a logical framework : • definition of common interests through a thorough analysis of the expectations (pragmatic and selfish) of each partner-organisation • definition of strategic objectives starting from the matrix of interests • adoption of a detailed action plan as an instrument of implementation of the strategic objectives Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  31. 3. Conditions of feasibility of « virtual clusters » : • Conditions of feasibility (contd.) : • c) identify as soon as possible a very limited number of cooperation projects uniting all partners or a majority of them, which it is possible to start within a short period of time in order to try to get a first record of « success stories » Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  32. 3. Conditions of feasibility of « virtual clusters » : • Conditions of feasibility (contd.) : • d) Be patient : • managing int ’l networks is terribly time-consuming • in particular for projects of internationalisation of SMEs managed by « intermediary bodies » • no magic recipe for solving intercultural problems Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  33. 4. SUMMARIZED METHODOLOGY • Seminar with potential / possible partners - intermediary bodies - to identify targeted sectors, subsectors or filières starting from an analysis of SMEs needs (local systems of production) • Operators : intermediary bodies (STPs, technological poles, centri servizi, BICs, agencies for innovation, chambers of commerce, etc.) • Exchange of staff between intermediary bodies involved : new products, new markets, strategic innovation Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

  34. 4. SUMMARIZED METHODOLOGY • Determination of a « short list » of partners (open to new membership) • Setting-up ICT tools between partners (e-portal related to all organizations and businesses concerned in the targeted sector, subsector, filière) • Build-up the most favourable conditions for paving the way for 1 or 2 first success stories with a demonstrative effect • Final beneficiaries : SMEs • Combine a bottom-up and a top-down approach Lacave Allemand & Associés - May 2000

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