Formalized business networks in SMEs and structural relations for their governance

This study explores how networked companies collaborate depending on the different systems of internal relationships adopted. Within the variables that determine the structural mix of networking rules, we chose to analyze (i) the nature of the activities performed, (ii) the intensity of the relationships and (iii) the level of involvement of partners in the strategic decision-making process of the network. This study was carried out on a sample of 100 network agreements. We analyzed: the rules for (i) the regulation of financial engagement between partners, (ii) the inter-company information system, (iii) the operational decision-making power and (iv) its links with the legal effects on individual participants and (v) the existence of a common capital fund. The research allows to identify three approaches to the definition of governance regulation and internal relationships. We propose a classification that goes beyond the current models of formal networking, distinguishing between rigid networks for sharing, flexible networks for sharing and quasi-informal networks. The model adopts a multi-dimensional analysis of business networks. The originality of the work is to be found in the sample observed that features formalized networks comparable from a legal viewpoint, as they all adopt standardized network agreements available in the Italian context.