The increasing relevance of design and marketing in the competitiveness of SMEs in the clothing industry: empirical evidence from an Italian district

The evolution of industrial districts today depends increasingly on the variety of strategic paths pursued by the district firms, each of which differs in its activity, in the market strategy pursued and in the different importance given to innovation and marketing activities. In particular, the size of the company, considered as a synthetic indicator of the resources and competences available to the firm, can be a major constraint to the type of strategic choices that the individual firm can pursue. Adopting a resource-based perspective of the firm, this paper aims to assess, with reference to the district companies of the fashion industry: a) the role of medium-sized enterprises in the economic development of clothing districts; b) the existence of differences in the levels of development of some resources related to the processes of innovation and marketing, considered of strategic relevance in the fashion industry. The two aspects highlighted are analysed through the elaboration of secondary data obtained from the “Observatory on the textile and clothing sector” in the district of Carpi, supplemented by qualitative information drawn from other secondary sources. The first results of this analysis, which is still in progress, show some differences, both in the performance of local firms of different sizes, and in terms of the degree of development of conceptual design and marketing resources.