This book investigates the relationship between the firm and the territory, emphasizing the micro-organizational dimension and the interactions between actors at territorial levels.
First, the book examines the particular features of the firm considering three key factors - structural design, power configuration and organizational culture – and the characteristics of the surrounding territory as a specific spatial ecosystem with its own institutions, agents, history and objectives. Second, it analyses organizational tenets at the micro- and meso levels with a view to explaining various relational models and their implications at the level of the firm and the territory. Although previous studies have focused on the territory as a geographical space in which firms procure resources and promote development, this book presents an innovative approach and makes a key contribution to the literature by dealing with the firm and the territory from an organizational perspective.
The relationship is analysed as bidirectional: a key question concerns how the territory can impact the organizational dimension of the firm, and how the firm can characterize the territory. This will be considered in connection with various effects. The positive effects of the relationship with the territory are investigated in terms of territorial identity, territorial resilience and territorial sustainability. The negative effects include the role of criminal networks rooted in the territory, with firms acting as key agents.
Author(s): Roberta Troisi
Series: Routledge-Giappichelli Studies in Business and Management
Publisher: Routledge/Giappichelli
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 123
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
List of figures and tables
Introduction: The organizational perspective and its importance in characterizing the relationship between the firm and the territory
1. Key features of the relationship between the firm and the territory
1.1 The territory as a spatial system of relations
1.1.1 Clusters: Characteristics and functions
1.1.1.1 Clusters vs. industrial districts
1.1.1.2 The notion of proximity
1.1.2 Ecosystems of firms
1.1.3 The territory: Specific concept, autonomous notion?
1.2 The organizational dimension: Structural design, power configurations and organizational culture
1.2.1 Introductory remarks
1.2.2 Insights into open systems and the environment in which firms operate
1.2.3 The environment, characteristics and organizational configuration: Power relations
1.2.3.1 Organizational configuration and the environment
1.2.3.2 The environment and the culture of the firm
1.2.4 The characterization of the territory as a specific environment
1.2.4.1 Territorial power (exerting influence and being influenced)
1.2.4.2 Organizational configuration and the environment
1.2.4.3 Interactions between organizational and territorial culture
1.2.5 Case study
1.2.5.1 Case study no. 1: Business and territory: Filipino street food
1.2.5.2 Case study no. 2: The territory and organizational configurations: The case of the Italian Banche di Credito Cooperative
1.2.5.3 Case study no. 3: Leading territorial development: Territorial networks across Europe
1.3 Conclusions: An integrated framework derived from organizational theory
Notes
2. Positive implications of the relationship between the firm and the territory
2.1 Introduction
2.1.1 The relationship between the firm and the territory: The organizational framework
2.1.1.1 The contextual environment, the micro level and contingency theory
2.1.1.2 The contextual environment, the meso level and vital systems theory
2.1.1.3 The institutional environment and the micro level: The role of institutions
2.1.1.4 The institutional environment and the meso level: Isomorphism and the organizational field
2.2 Territorial identity and its institutional implications
2.2.1 The firm as a territorial institution
2.2.2 Do territorial institutions influence organizational culture?
2.2.2.1 The culture of legality
2.2.2.2 The impact of territorial institutions on the culture of development
2.2.2.3 Territorial culture
2.2.3 Organizational field and territorial identity
2.2.4 Case studies
2.2.4.1 Case study no. 1: The impact of the firm on the territory. Ferrero: From Italy to India
2.2.4.2 Case study no. 2: The impact of the firm on the territory: The culture of the gaucho and the rural economy
2.2.4.3 Case study no. 3: Organizational field and safety culture
2.3 Territorial resilience: Bridging the gap between firms and system resilience
2.3.1 Resilience as a complex but positive concept
2.3.2 The resilience of firms as organizational resilience
2.3.3 Territorial resilience
2.3.4 Case studies
2.3.4.1 Case study no. 1: Non-profit organizations, COVID-19 and resilience
2.3.4.2 Case study no. 2: Healthcare providers and COVID-19: The Italian experience: Hospitals, networks and territorial adaptability
2.4 Sustainability choices: The role of firms and territorial stakeholders
2.4.1 The concept of sustainability: The links between development and the territory
2.4.2 The sustainable choices of firms and the impact on the territory: The institutional perspective
2.4.3 The role of multi-agents for territorial sustainability: The systemic approach
2.4.4 Case studies
2.4.4.1 Case study no. 1: The case of the Palestinian women's cooperative
2.4.4.2 Case study no. 2: Sustainable territorial networks: The Tropical Forest Alliance
3. Negative implications of the relationship between the firm and the territory
3.1 Preliminary remarks
3.1.1 The territorial nature of offences committed by firms
3.1.1.1 The micro level: Transaction cost theory and the territorial dimension of criminal behaviour
3.1.1.2 The meso level: The neo-institutional theory of isomorphism
3.2 Why crimes committed by firms tend to be territorial
3.3 Why some forms of criminal behaviour become widespread across territories
3.4 Case studies
3.4.1 Case study no. 1: The dynamics of territorial corruption
3.4.2 Case study no. 2: Isomorphism and illegal land use
Conclusions
References
Acknowledgements
Index
