Date:
28 June 2017
Confindustria Lombardia Internationalisation Survey – 2017 edition: "Internationalisation strategy, commitment and performance of Lombardy's SMEs"
Milan, 28 June 2017 – Businesses in Lombardy are distinguished by a high rate of internationalisation, which is consistent across all territories. They are dynamic and flexible in adapting to new markets, and favour 'light' forms of internationalisation. Their preferred destination markets are Germany, France and Spain, while Russia, India and Iran are the countries where they aspire to expand in the coming years.
These are the main findings from the "Internationalisation strategy, commitment and performance of Lombardy's SMEs" survey by Confindustria Lombardia, conducted with the scientific contribution of SDA Bocconi on a sample of approximately 1,200 companies. The objective of the survey was to define the international strategies pursued by Lombard companies, assess their propensity and performance, and identify their needs for services and support.
Opening the proceedings of the conference to present the survey, Confindustria Lombardia President Alberto Ribolla emphasised that "these results testify to the high level of maturity and flexibility our companies have achieved in their internationalisation policies, without overlooking the objective difficulties encountered daily when engaging with new worlds. Internationalisation," Ribolla added, "represents one of the four drivers for competitiveness identified in our #Lombardia2030 strategic plan. In recent years, Confindustria Lombardia has sought to focus part of its activity on 360-degree internationalisation, aiming to increase the attractiveness of investments, provide more targeted services to businesses – through the fundamental work of our territorial associations or by leveraging the Enterprise Europe Network – create greater synergies with regional stakeholders and the network of consular representations, and consolidate relationships with our counterpart institutions and associations abroad," concluded the President of Confindustria Lombardia.
The results of the 2017 edition of the Confindustria Lombardia survey highlight, in detail:
- a degree of internationalisation that is consistent across all territories: ranging from 49.9% of foreign sales out of total turnover for companies in Varese, to 35.3% in the Mantua area. Cremona (49.8%) and Brescia (47.1%) also feature on the podium;
- the most internationalised industrial sectors are transport equipment (60.3%), machinery (58.3%) and other manufacturing (46.9%);
- as size changes, so do internationalisation methods: small businesses (34.4%) prefer a concentration policy, focusing on a limited number of destination countries to economise resources, predominantly associated with exports; medium-to-large enterprises (31.6% and 34.9%) prefer spreading, meaning a widespread presence in numerous countries, even with small market shares, accompanied by direct investment and a commercial or production presence;
- commitment (a mix of financial resources, knowledge of internationalisation activities, past experience and a network of local contacts) contributes positively to international success: small businesses have lower levels of commitment but, at the same time, are those that internationalise most rapidly;
- a distinctly Lombard characteristic is the increase in so-called Born global companies (businesses that reach 25% of foreign sales as a share of company turnover within the first 3 years of operation): born global firms account for 34% of the sample established since 2000, are cross-sectoral across all industries and size classes, and are characterised by their aggressive internationalisation policies;
- Lombard companies show profitability higher than the national average: the ROA (Return on Assets) of the Lombard sample in 2015 was 5.3%, against the 4% national average recorded by Cerved in the same year;
- the spreading policy is more profitable than concentration across all size classes, but ROA rewards companies that implement ambidextrous policies by combining the two strategies: ambidextrous companies have an ROA of 6.5%, concentrators 4.2% and spreaders 4.9%.
The conference, moderated by Corriere Innovazione and Raiuno journalist Barbara Gasperini, also featured contributions from Gabriella Lojacono, Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University, Nicola Misani, Researcher at the Department of Management and Technology, Bocconi University, Giovanni Ajassa, Director of the Studies Department, BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas, Fabrizio Sala, Vice President and Regional Minister for Housing, Social Housing, Expo 2015 and Internationalisation of Businesses for the Lombardy Region, Camilla Cionini Visani, Director of the Internationalisation Area at Confindustria, and Ivan Scalfarotto, Undersecretary for Economic Development and International Trade at the Ministry of Economic Development.
During the conference, entrepreneurs Alberto Metelli, General Manager of Metelli SpA, and Giovanni Berutti, CEO of SPM SpA, shared their contributions by recounting their companies' internationalisation experiences.
The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,170 internationalised companies associated with the Territorial Associations of Confindustria Lombardia that operate in industrial activities or sectors related to industry. This represents a significant sample of internationalised companies with over 90% export share and a degree of internationalisation ranging from 31.2% to 54.3% depending on the size class.
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