University of Vaasa - Vaasan yliopisto

The Variable "Territory" of SMEs
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In the case of SMEs, the territory of affiliation weighs strongly on their
competitiveness. The theory of industrial districts explains that the fruit of an
agglomeration of small specialised enterprises is a territory in which SMEs enjoy
economies of scale that otherwise would be the exclusive prerogative of big
enterprises. As shown in studies of the international development of SMEs, the
importance of the territory depends on the resources and competencies that are
unavailable or difficult to produce inside the firm (Cavusgil 1980; Czinkota & Tesar
1982: 295). The inside production of knowledge and the ability to operate on the
international markets is seriously compromised by the scale diseconomies that
emerge as soon as the degree of specialisation of the competencies to be developed
crosses a certain threshold. Thus, the principal obstacles to the development of
international activity in SMEs are very often inside the enterprise, tied to limited
resources and abilities, and not to the market opportunities.
The territory can represent, then, a fertile basis from which to draw resources and
skills. However, it is the responsibility of the enterprise to evaluate the presence and
characteristics of the area’s advantages and to evaluate the effectiveness of these
advantages in the target market-country. The lack of homogeneity in the distribution
of domestic assets (resources, ability, relationships), of the demand structure and of
the technology in different foreign markets determines the differing effectiveness of
the comparative advantages that the enterprise can enjoy (De Chiara & Minguzzi
1996).
So, the relationships and the abilities to create consent and trust around the enterprise
and its entrepreneurial project become essential to the continuation of the activities
of these enterprises.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The joint outcome of a series of factors has brought to the foreground the theme of
the social responsibility of enterprise: the awareness of the conditions of uneasiness
between the state of nature and the social state resulting from economic growth; the
awareness of the competitiveness of countries and the enterprises leaving these
countries out of consideration for the responsible nature of these successes; the
certainty of the impossibility of boundless economic growth, neglecting any impact
on the environment; and the importance of the social function developed by the
enterprise that emerges from the relationships that it must activate inside and outside.
The growing maturity of civil society is reflected in its requests and expectations of
public and private institutions, these institutions must consequently unite to find a
new equilibrium between economic criteria and social outcomes in the governance of
economic development activity. Such motivations have inspired the ideation of
models of development compatible with an eco-centric vision (also noted by the term
deep ecology 11 ) that will answer to a wider common or social interest, because the
11 This concept has been proposed by the philosopher Arne Naess in Capra F. (1997). La rete della vita,
Milano Rizzoli.