Network relationships and marketing in Italian small firms. Some evidences from the furnishing industry

With the aim of providing some further elements to the key question “how do small companies manage marketing activities?” a triple case study has been applied to three Italian very small furnishing producers. Coherently to Gilmore et al. (2006), we assert that networking can be seen as a complete marketing model in small firms since it supports marketing management even in the presence of strong resources constraints. However, results show that some pre-condition are necessary so that networking could deploy all its usefulness in sustaining SMEs in their marketing activities. And, in particular, entrepreneurs must be able to recognize the drivers of competitiveness within the new global scenario; to develop a coherent vision of their companies within it; and finally to be able to set up and manage wide networks that go beyond dyadic relationships and specific advantages that they can guarantee.