Information and Communication Technologies: Cagliari’s Production System

This article analyzes the evolution of Cagliari’s local ICT system. Established at the end of the 1990s, the local system benefitted from three factors: highly skilled researchers; industrial application of research results; and a local firm eager to achieve first mover advantage. Recently, despite the economic crisis, the Cagliari ICT system has shown signs of recovery stimulated by a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of competing in ICT service market niches at the global level At this stage public policies do not seem to be playing a role capable of fostering innovation processes, as they had done in the local system’s early stages.