Following our analysis in Chapter 10, we shall now study Veneto's trade businesses by using network analysis techniques. Therefore, we shall concentrate on studying the central role played by local labour systems in trade by looking at the multiple locations of Veneto businesses
(Note 1).
The graphs show the main links between local systems by means of arrows that connect the local systems of headquarters with their corresponding local units. The thickness of each arrow corresponds to the strength of the link, i.e. the number of people employed in the local units of the target system who belong to the headquarters of the source system.
To make the information easier to read, only links involving more than 220 local unit employees are shown
(Note 2).
The strongest links that Veneto systems have with other systems concern, above all, large-scale distribution businesses; indeed the majority of the local units belonging to Veneto enterprises working in other regions are supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and food discount stores. Some of the strongest links within this type of distribution are between the local labour system in Venezia and a number of regional capitals, such as Roma, Milano, Torino, Trieste, Bologna, Genova and Firenze, as well as other major cities and towns, such as Udine, Parma, Pistoia and Pontedera. Major links have also been established between businesses in the San Bonifacio local system and production units in the local labour systems of Milano, Codogno and Torino; between enterprises in Padova and local units in Bolzano and Udine; and between businesses in Castelfranco Veneto and local units in Roma, Milano, Torino, Novara and Borgomanero.
The strongest network within Veneto is the one linking Venezia, Padova, Castelfranco Veneto and Treviso. Once again, we can see the importance of Veneto's new four-cornered manufacturing system, which may be the result of the towns' strategic locations close to the main thoroughfares of communication and mobility. This system is the cornerstone of Veneto's distribution network. Most business in the area is involved in large-scale distribution, especially supermarkets and hypermarkets. In the traditional retail trade, the main links concern sales of shoes and accessories, and these connect the local labour systems of Padova and Venezia.
Another important retail-trade link, especially regarding the vehicle trade, is the local system of Legnago and its links with the Verona labour system
(Figure 11.6.1).