Effects of learning, unlearning and forgetting on path development: the case of the Macerata-Fermo footwear industrial districts

The paper examines processes of knowledge transformation in Industrial Districts (IDs) and how they contribute to industrial path development. Drawing on a case study of the footwear IDs in the provinces of Macerata and Fermo, Italy, we discuss how the knowledge configuration of the ID, within and outside of its core industry, changes as a result of internationalization activities, affecting path development. The Fermo IDs are characterized by a high multiplicity of know-how nuclei within the core industry and low non-core multiplicity. In this case, we find that unlearning processes are concentrated within the core, supporting at most an extension of its lifecycle. Conversely, the higher non-core multiplicity of the Macerata IDs is favouring also interactions between core firms (sole and heel producers) and non-core firms (producers of plastic instruments), enabling unlearning processes that may open up new paths of development.