Since it would be absurd to hypothesize that mafiosi did not export their industry because the North of Italy was less economically attractive than the South, it can only be concluded that the mafia is a difficult industry to export. Not unlike mining, it is heavily dependent on the local environment. Its initial costs can be met solely under a special combination of conditions since basic resources are expensive to produce in a void: information gathering and advertising, for instance, exploit independent networks of kinship, friendship, and ethnicity.

XREF: Parallels the idea that embedded industries or informal economies are tied to their local social fabric, similar to discussions of other locally-dependent industries.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 665