Abstract
Behind the term ID, extensively used in various disciplinary fields, different organizational arrangements and firms’ endowment can be recognized. However, the attempts to offer a sound measurement of their performance on a comparative basis are still few. This paper explores the conundrums of defining and measuring the performance of IDs, taken, in general terms, as complex socio-economic systems, as meso-organization between the firm and the industry. The discussion is based on a first attempt to measure the performance as well as the socio-economic structure of 24 Italian local/subprovincial areas. Performance is then related to the structural factors that literature has highlighted. The results show how a large variety of institutional arrangements in Italian IDs is combined with a positive social or economic performance. New organizational forms, such as larger firms, networks, or constellation of firms may as well generate external economies for the local environment.