TENDENZE REALI E FINANZIARIE DEL BACINO MARMIFERO DI CUSTONACI E I PROCESSI DICOLLABORAZIONE E COMPETIZIONE DELLE IMPRESE LOCALI

[automatically translated] The goal to be pursued is the analysis of the marble sector in Sicily, with particular reference to the Custonaci system, one of the most representative realities of the stone sector in Sicily and in the literature was analyzed to verify the district nature elements. The fund has marble along with that food and agriculture, one of the few industry oriented to internationalization. In the last decade, however, because of the influence exerted by the Middle East conflict and the strengthening of the euro against the dollar, the fund ran into a serious crisis, compounded by structural factors such as excessive fragmentation of supply, the lack of planning and coordination of the activities of the operators, the lack of infrastructure to support production activities, the low sensitivity to technological innovation and the limited level of human capital employed in the sector. The work intends to demonstrate the necessity of the creation of a consolidated network system among enterprises in order to overcome the problems that currently charge on them. In particular, in the stone basin of Custonaci, the entrepreneurial fabric appears to be characterized by high territorial fragmentation which results in a high degree of competitiveness and a low degree of cooperation, factors that have significantly reduced the profitability of the sector. In order to identify possible lines of intervention which overcome the problems that weigh on this reality, The present study makes quantitative and qualitative character analysis of key structural features, economic and financial powers of a representative sample of 25 companies of the area, located in the municipalities of Custonaci, Erice and Valderice. The quantitative analysis, performed at both individual and aggregate, is based on an examination of the 25 companies selected financial data and is intended to examine their economic and financial performance, along with their level of capitalization. The qualitative analysis was carried out through a research activity in the field and the application of the techniques of social network analysis. The research activity in the field has been realized, in particular, through direct interviews and administration of a questionnaire consists of 67 questions, for investigation of the technical characteristics of the local businesses, the degree of inter-company cooperation, the level of human capital, the target market, the degree of internationalization, the relationship with the banking system, the critical success factors and key system issues . Such an analysis is mainly to verify the existence of an established network of companies within this reality and the degree of vertical and / or horizontal integration achieved by local businesses. The results of this survey confirm the need, felt by the companies themselves, create solid and stable forms of cooperation within the system, with a view to competitive collaboration, together with greater cooperation with the Public Institution. These organizational changes could lead to a significant improvement in activity program, needed to overcome the problems affecting the sector. In this context, social capital, defined as "set of relationships, norms and shared values that facilitate cooperation between groups or persons" - according to the definition elaborated by the OECD -, assumes a strategic importance for the survival and growth of this sector.