Title: The Italian plastics industries toward a plastic-free society: what possible strategies?

Authors: Guido Migliaccio; Veronica De Blasio

Addresses: Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy ' Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy

Abstract: The article studies the evolution of the economic performance of plastic manufacturers in Italy. The economic analysis will analyse the past decade, influenced by the effects of the global financial crisis and the increase in environmental problems, involving the plastics industry due to regulations aimed at reducing the environmental impacts attributed to plastics. The study demonstrates good profitability of the enterprises and an ability to answer to the stimuli of the international crises, with a good possibility of self-financing for the conversion of the productive processes, especially for small enterprises that have better values than large enterprises. The results are useful for entrepreneurs and national authorities to identify appropriate policies to support the sector and its restructuring for a sustainable world. The article is one of the rare attempts to integrate economic considerations with qualitative analysis, identifying the variables ignored and verifying the effects of these variables on enterprises.

Keywords: small; medium and big plastic manufacturers; global crisis; profitability ratios; performance; ANOVA; Tuckey-Kramer test.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2024.136951

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2024 Vol.20 No.2, pp.179 - 218

Received: 08 May 2021
Accepted: 03 Oct 2021
Published online: 01 Mar 2024 *

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