In 2011, foreign-controlled companies residing in Italy numbered over 13. They employed around 7% of total employees, showing an average size greater than that relating to the whole of the Italian entrepreneurial system.
In comparison with nationally controlled companies, those with foreign control achieve a better performance, both in terms of productivity and in terms of profitability. This consideration is also confirmed by taking into account the dimensional differences with respect to nationally controlled companies.
In foreign-controlled companies, the added value per employee is equal to 81 euros, approximately double that recorded for the total of nationally controlled companies. Limiting the analysis to large companies, the added value per employee of those with foreign control is approximately 20% higher than that recorded in those with national control.
Greater productivity allows foreign-controlled enterprises to achieve better results in terms of profitability. For large companies, the ratio between EBITDA and value added is 42%, 10 percentage points higher than what is achieved by large nationally controlled companies.
Furthermore, foreign-controlled companies are characterized by a greater volume of investments, with a value per employee exceeding 11 thousand euros, more than double the figure relating to nationally controlled companies. To return to growth, the Italian economy needs new and huge investments, to recreate an adequate production capacity, which allows to quickly recover what was lost in the last six years. The lack of productive investments, which has penalized the economy not only in the years of the crisis, is often explained by a country system that is not capable of adequately promoting business activity. In addition to these critical issues, however, there also seems to be a problem of mentality in dealing with entrepreneurial decisions and in determining investment methods, both in terms of the amount of resources and the type of asset purchased.
The data on foreign-controlled enterprises residing in Italy show how a greater volume of investments in productive capital, despite the difficulties of the external context, can contribute to obtaining better results in terms of productivity and profitability.
