COMPETITION AND PERFORMANCE OF AGRO FOOD FIRMS: STRATEGIC AND FINANCIAL CHOICES OF CAMPANIA FIRMS’

Over the last few years, the agro food industry has been undergoing a process of acceleratedchange, consequent to the incessantly modifying food geography, both from the demand andthe supply side. This essentially exploratory research analyses the strategic choices of Campaniaagro food firms, as well as their wider strategic management process, performance and capitalstructure. The study focuses on competitive strategies that are largely affected by the monoproductnature of the SMEs, which characterize the economy of the Campania region (Italy). Inthis context the research investigates the critical factors of success and/or failure of theCampania agro food industry, the strategies adopted by regional firms, their resultingperformance, their capital structure and the actions necessary to increase competitiveness. Themethodology is based on extended secondary data research and literature review, as well as ona survey of sixty-five firms. Combining these, the research demonstrates some fundamentalstrategic problems of Campania firms, relating to competition, decision making and financialperformance. Some firms were found to implement winning strategies, with their mostimportant characteristic being their marketing orientation; and specifically their ability tounderstand and predict market trends and consumer behavioral patterns and to adoptappropriate and timely strategies.