Disabili e lavoro, modello Veneto. Formazione e tirocini il trampolino

The numbers

Business networks growing beyond 7,000 contracts

The InfoCamere, RetImpresa and Ca' Foscari Management Department study reveals that tourism is the preferred sector for aggregations

10 September 2024

Settori. In particolare in Veneto molte aggregazioni sono nate nell’ambito del turismo (in foto, turisti in bicicletta a Riva del Garda)

4' min read

Together is better, especially if small companies are joining forces. Following this logic, the number of companies that signed a network contract in the North East also rose in 2023. There were 3,960 in Veneto, i.e. 8.4% of the national total, 2,444 in Friuli Venezia Giulia (5.2%) and 801 in Trentino Alto Adige (1.7%), so overall more than 7,200. The trend is also found at a national level as certified by the 5th Report of the National Observatory on Enterprise Networks, edited by InfoCamere, RetImpresa and the Department of Management of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice. The work uses data from the Business Register of the Chambers of Commerce on the universe of contracts stipulated in Italy and the results of the survey conducted by the Observatory between September and November last year on a representative sample of active networks.

In Veneto alone, the number of companies that have joined together by signing a contract in front of a notary to pursue one or more common objectives has risen from 3,669 in 2022 to almost 4,000 in 2023, an increase of +7.9%. Venice is the province most interested in the aggregation process with 860 networked companies (+9.4%). Considering that in 2018 there were 2,409 'networked' companies in the region, a progression of 64.4% in five years is calculated.

There were 1,183 agreements signed compared to 1,045 two years ago, with the Venetian region still in the lead with 353 agreements. Of the total, only 145 enterprise networks in Veneto have legal personality, i.e. a VAT number, which also allows them to invoice. Among other peculiarities, after Lombardy, Veneto is the second region in Italy for benefit companies adhering to at least one network agreement (30 in total at the moment).

Friuli Venezia Giulia, on the other hand, holds the national record for 'networked' companies, i.e. united by some kind of network contract, which number 250 for every 10,000 registered at the Chambers of Commerce. Veneto (85) and Trentino Alto Adige (71) are well below, while the national average stands at 79.

Finally, in the Boot, 2023 networked more than 47 thousand companies (+4.8%) for almost 9 thousand contracts (+7.4%) in numerous sectors and supply chains, with a prevalence of agrifood, construction and trade. In the North-East, and in the Veneto region in particular, many aggregations were born in the tourism sector.

The Observatory shows that the tool is particularly useful for small companies (75% of members have fewer than 10 employees) to increase bargaining power (35%), share expenses for purchases and supplies or technologies (24%) and participate in tenders and contracts (24%). Interest in creating common brands is also significant. Compared to 2022, micro-networks, made up of 2 or 3 companies (over 52% of the total) and, in general, aggregations made up of fewer than 10 companies (almost 87%) are strengthening. Trends include the gradual reduction of inter-sectoral networks (60% at the end of 2023) and the growing diffusion of aggregations between companies in the same sphere (40%), which seems to indicate an approach towards the tool, introduced by Law No. 33 of 2009, aimed at fully exploiting the advantages of collaborations increasingly focused on sharing knowledge and skills. In addition, the formation of networks between companies operating in neighbouring territories is being consolidated.

Finally, the survey data focuses on network performance, the main one being resilience. Unity also makes it easier to innovate. One focus was on the use of the network manager among aggregations, a professional who is prevalent in the agri-food, trade, construction, health and social services and mechanics sectors. Then there are other aspects linked to legal, fiscal and financial tools available to networks. "The 2023 Report," points out Fabrizio Landi, president of RetImpresa, "highlights the interest in experimenting with codatoriality (hiring on behalf of the network of employees who can spread their working hours or period of service over several companies, ed.) and basket bonds (issuing bonds), which can give impetus to the organisation of work and financial evolution in small businesses.

The main objectives pursued by the networks "are to increase bargaining power, share purchases, and participate in calls for tenders and contracts with improving performance," says Anna Cabigiosu, scientific director of the Observatory of the Ca' Foscari Management Department. "In the last five years," she adds, "despite the many contextual difficulties, participation in a network has made network companies more resilient: more than 65% state that, in the face of a crisis, they have recovered normal operations within the year with a limited reduction in turnover not exceeding 10%.

INSTRUMENT

The Network
Represents a legal-economic instrument of cooperation between enterprises that, through the signing of a contract (the 'Network Contract'), undertake reciprocally, on the basis of a common programme, to collaborate in forms and areas pertaining to their activities, exchanging information and/or services of an industrial, commercial, technical or technological nature and/or jointly carrying out certain activities related to the object of each enterprise. In 2023, the number of enterprises that signed a network contract in the North-East increased: there were 3,960 in Veneto, 2,444 in Friuli VG and 801 in Trentino AA