Connections and Competences in the Governance of the Value Chain. How Industrial Countries Maintain their Competitive Advantage.

The aim of our paper is to analyse the governance of value chains operating in the traditional sectors of clothing and footwear, focusing particularly on production de-localization from the Italian region of Veneto to the nearby country of Rumania After describing and ‘quantifying’ the internationalization process between Veneto and Rumania we turn to discuss the possible consequences of this process, both for the region of origin and the recipient area. We highlight, through the concepts of linkages and competences how the production internationalization process may determine a progressive weakening of the network of linkages that characterize the home region, and discuss the main obstacles to a successful transfer of know-how and technologies to the host system. From this discussion emerges the vision of some policy measures to amplify possible positive effects and counter negative consequences of the fragmentation of production, both in the home and in the host country.