DECISION-MAKING UNDER COMPLEXITY: THE CASE OF DISTRICT SME

Purpose - This study aims at examining the district SMEs decision-making under complexity. The purpose of the paper is to confirm the idea of industrial district as a source of opportunities which fosters consonance and cooperation among district firms and hence supports the decision-making of individual entrepreneurs, in the perspective of value creation and long term survival. Design/methodology/approach - Complexity Theory, Viable System Approach and Informative Variety Model have been used for the analysis of the district firms decision-making process. Findings - The findings suggest that the different degree of development of a district influences the decision-making of a district firm. Indeed, by comparing the performance of two Italian industrial districts, specialized in the industry of tanning, that is Santa Croce sull'Arno - configurable as complete viable system - and Solofra - definable as embryonic system -, it emerges the lower degree of development of the latter and the less competitiveness of its companies which tend to compete in individual way also within the international markets. Research limitations/implications - The discussion stresses a series of research propositions for future researches aimed at improving the understanding of the problem. As for limitation, only two cases in a single sector have been analyzed and there is a lack of concrete outcomes concerning the decision process of district SMEs. Practical implication - The findings suggested some managerial implications to govern and simplify complex decisions for district SMEs. Originality/value - The paper provides a new methodology to examine the decision-making of district SMEs.