Analysis of the Belluno Industrial District by Means of a Questionnaire

An analysis research of the industrial district of Belluno eyewear is being developed, with the final goal of creating a simulation model based on system dynamics. At first, the industrial district has been analyzed from a theoretical point of view, starting from the definitions that gave Alfred Marshall, in Principles of Economics (1890) up to the present concept. In general an industrial district can be defined as socio-economic entity that is a collection of businesses, usually forming part of the same industry, located in a circumscribed area, between which there is cooperation but also competition. Today, after nearly 110 years since the first use of the word district, there are in the business world many of these realities that characterize the economies of different regions or nations; this is the case of Italy, where the presence of industrial districts is very high to represents the economic identity of certain regions. In this first theoretical analysis of the district, its elements, which recurred mainly in the analysis of the industrial district of Belluno, have been identified. The main items analyzed were: the concept of network, the binomial local/global, the presence of “two-speed districts”, the district internationalization and finally the role of the territory. After this, a questionnaire has been prepared, in order to fulfil the needs of the simulator. Last, the simulation framework is now being designed.