Italian SMEs go shopping abroad

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The Italy of SMEs is the Italy that shops abroad. And the effect is that from small companies they are becoming increasingly 'medium-sized'. A transition towards what has been defined as the fourth capitalism of family businesses that has become increasingly evident in recent years, at least in the north, and now also photographed in numbers by an analysis of Mediobanca data.

In 2019, there were 50 companies in Italy with a turnover of between EUR 1 and 4 billion, a figure that has been essentially stable for some time. By the end of 2022, in just three years, this had jumped to 65 and the prospect is to reach 70/80. Numbers that are not huge, but which weigh in terms of turnover and boost GDP. As well as marking a decisive change of pace and perspective for what is the backbone of the Italian economy. "The crisis of the districts due to the globalisation process has selected, in the vast universe of small and very small companies, some that by tradition, or entrepreneurial vitality, were more inclined to initiate a process of strengthening and growth," explains Andrea Colli, Professor of Economic History at Bocconi University, who edited the survey. "This has had the effect of considerably strengthening the intermediate dimensional band, characterised by levels of dynamism that can no longer be traced either among the small district enterprises or the larger ones, both public and private". A drive to 'go big' that spans all the typical Made in Italy sectors, from manufacturing to agribusiness.

A growth that mainly looks across borders. But that is not just a desire to sell abroad, as was the case until recently, but also to produce abroad. This is why small Italian companies, the vast majority of which are family-owned, are breaking the safe haven to acquire other small companies elsewhere. "This is the new element," Colli goes on to explain, "Part of the internationalisation process is the construction of production facilities abroad, or the acquisition. So much so that a not insignificant part of the multinational activity of Italian companies is precisely made up of direct investments by medium-sized companies'. It is the SMEs, in short, that make the Italian presence abroad grow.

On the other hand, growing has been the imperative for SMEs to survive for decades, now also reaffirmed by the Draghi report on Europe's growth. Considering that small and medium-sized enterprises are the backbone not only of Italy: according to recent data from the EU Commission, there are about 23 million SMEs in the 27 member countries, more than 98% of the total number of European companies, employing about 65% of the private sector workforce and contributing to more than half of the added value generated in the European Union. And now from Italy comes the push to grow, inside and outside Europe.

A drive also driven by changes at the top, with many small companies choosing in recent years to flank family representatives with new managers, also thanks to the obligatory generational transition. Internationalisation is being guided and sometimes even 'decided' by managers who "although they are not members of the family are linked to the latter by a long stay in the company and by the sharing of values and visions typical of the latter", explains Colli. In the same way, the companies that enter the portfolio are "still family-owned but smaller in size, so as not to compromise expansion processes that are always progressive and prudent". In a sort of 'alliance of vision among equals'.