Restructuring in the Motorcycle Industry in Great Britain and Italy until 1980

Abstract

In this paper the different forms of restructuring experienced by the British and Italian motorcycle industries over the last thirty years are outlined, In the British case the restructuring was limited to a process of concentration and rationalization of production among the existing producers and was unsuccessful. In fact, the industry, having been a world leader until the late 1950s, declined until its demise by 1975. In Italy the success of the restructuring process was not based on the reorganization of existing firms, but on the emergence of new producers and product differentiation. The major factor in the restructuring of the Italian motorcycle industry was a radical innovation in the production process of motorcycle frames. This innovation has led to the development of two types of motorcycle firms with different final products and in different locations.

In Northwest Italy, the lower production cost of the new frame led to the appearance of several new, large, highly-integrated manufacturers geared to standardized mass production. At the same time, however, new motorcycle production also began in Central Italy in a large number of small, specialized firms. In this case, the success of the restructuring was based not so much on low production costs as on the flexibility of production allowed both by the new production methods and by the social characteristics of the region.