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THE
GREAT GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGE
Esterna's objective is to internationalize Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In response to the globalization of recent years, Italian company owners have invested mainly in process technologies, achieving improvements of middling quality: high quality is not always the primary concern. However, this must become today's and tomorrow's number one objective, for industry and services alike. Investing in quality and investing in research, i.e. in in-depth knowledge of marketing, is the key to successfully establishing a business in a permanent manner on a third market. You need research to create quality. Italian exports to the rest of the world are on an increase, and this is mainly due to another element: the district mentality. A typically Italian trait, its strength lies in the ability to unite the high technological level of our enterprises with the sophistication of quality materials and design. Italy - the Triveneto area in particular - is a country in which a large slice of the GDP comes from small and medium enterprise, namely the entrepreneurial phenomenon sporting the "Made in Italy" label. With its mighty efforts, our country has managed to reduce the rate of inflation and replenish public coffers, enabling us to enter the European Union - a dimension in which local or national yardsticks are made obsolete and must be cast aside in favour of international standards. Small and medium enterprises, therefore, also have to come to terms with this breakthrough if they do not want to be left out of the international market game. There are conflicting signs in this regard. A number of Italian enterprises are having trouble adapting to the new situation and holding out against international competition, whilst still assuring production of quality goods. What we are in dire need of is a change in mentality. Investing and operating on an international level, becoming part of a vast process of relations, mobility and exchanges, does not mean losing sight of the local dimension. What it does mean is contributing to a new dimension integrating all things local and all things global, integrating the community and the rest of the world. Our system of enterprises will develop provided the Italian system's growth is homogeneous. Not just concerning production, though its quality is undisputed, but in terms of distribution, suitable marketing policies, backing from the banking system, and integration with community support systems. What's needed, therefore, is a change in attitude: the expansion of markets and free movement of goods and capital are our enterprises' true resource. This is the great globalization challenge for the economy and Italian enterprises. |