External Economies and Value Net Strategies in Italian Furniture Districts

In the chapter two different ways of achieving external economies in industrial districts are briefly examined. From the empirical examples, it is argued that in terms of external economies, there is no single "district model". It is also suggested that due to future concentration within furniture distribution, some Italian furniture producers may have their external economies based on flexible specialisation and localised learning outweighed by strategic problems of distribution - if they do not expand the scope of localised learning