ABSTRACT

The industrial district model represents a specific form of agglomeration of local firms (Becattini, 1990); however, it is characterized by a multiplicity of possible evolutionary patterns of growth, innovation, and learning (Humphrey & Schmitz, 1995, Asheim, 1996, Markusen, 1996, Belussi, Gottardi, & Rullani, 2003, Caniëls & Romijn, 2005; Iammarino & McCann, 2006; Martin & Sunley, 2006; Braunerhjelm & Feldman, 2006; Simmie, 2008). In the last century, some old districts have declined, whereas others have grown and changed and new districts have emerged. The aim of this chapter is to shed light on the evolutionary process of industrial districts (IDs), evaluating the role of path dependence in their growth trajectories.