Networking in Calabria The case of Totti Industrie

The early literature on learning in small firms has been linked to individual learning through training. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of networks as a vehicle for learning through knowledge transfer. It is how this network‐learning takes place that this paper helps to elucidate. The focus in this paper is a particular ‘life or death’ decision point at Totti Industrie, a small religious clothing manufacturer in Calabria, Italy. A problem‐centred approach was adopted in order to assess how the owner‐manager learned to solve problems and ultimately arrive at a decision. Preliminary findings diverge from similar studies undertaken in the United Kingdom where networks are less extensive but utilised more completely to resolve business related problems. It is suggested that a more limited use of the wider network could be down to the intensity and vastness of network relations and the susceptibility of this wider‐network to leakage of valuable company information.