Networking Entrepreneurship in High Quality Agri-Food: The Case of Olive Oil Production in Apulia

Networking entrepreneurs stimulate the growth of the group through the reinforcement of the relations among the firms involved. The opportunity to work in clusters is particularly necessary for SMEs, which always have a low power, especially for those who work in a low technological sector. Italy is characterized for a massive presence of small and medium enterprises, organized in districts or networks. Despite the economic crisis, some of these groups are able to survive and score positive performances both locally and abroad. In this work we investigate the olive-oil biological sector, which is able to tow the Apulian economy based on its vocation. This sector shows a trend in network formation. Moreover, from an entrepreneurial point of view, such a strategy brings advantages both for the single unit and the group. We believe that biological entrepreneurs prefer to form a consortium, that is self-referenced. The common factors are entrepreneurial culture and social contacts of the team.