ABSTRACT
The object of this study is to analyse the particular evolutionary pattern of growth of many small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) towards the formation of business groups.2 Such organisational forms are rapidly spreading in many areas characterised by high concentrations of SMEs.3 Most of the literature on business groups focuses on their role in the economic growth of emerging economies and their coordinating function as an alternative to both state and market (Khanna, 2000). Here, instead, the aim is to read this process through the lens of the dynamic capabilities approach and to relate it to the specific economic and social context. The particular relationship between interorganisational links and the growth of SME business groups will be explored using a contingency analysis applied to data extracted from formal groups of northeastern Italy.
