The paper analyses the organization of the new product development process at FIAT from a resource-based perspective. The focus is on organizational resources for integrating dispersed specialist knowledge required in the development of complex products. The analysis shows how the application of...

Cross-functional teams play a potentially important part in the innovation process enabling knowledge sharing, the development of trust and overcoming spatial and organizational barriers. Using a supermodularity approach, we focus on potential complementarities which may arise when...

This paper examines the factors that influence whether firms draw from universities in their innovative activities. The link between the universities and industrial innovation, and the role of different search strategies in influencing the propensity of firms to use universities is explored. The...

Many recent papers dealing with the issue of knowledge spillovers have relied on patent data to extract information on so-called mobile inventors that is inventors designated by patent applications filed by different companies. In this paper we follow in this tradition, but with the aim of...

This paper investigates in an exploratory manner the licensing strategies pursued by firms whose business model is based on developing and licensing out their intellectual property rights (IPRs). These are not traditional suppliers, since they do not engage in production or commercialization,...

Innovation may be seen as a process of knowledge creation and the speed and direction of knowledge creation reflects the organizational set-up of the firm as well as its investments in R&D and training. Establishing ‘a learning organization’ where horizontal interaction and communication...

Evolutionary theories of technological change and industrial dynamics give primary importance to interaction between heterogeneous agents, endowed with complementary assets and competencies. Accordingly, support to co-operative R&D is central to technology policy, as a mean for increasing system...

This paper seeks to broaden our understanding of the concept underlying absorptive capacity at the macro –level, paying particular attention to the growth and development perspectives. We provide definitions of absorptive and technological capacity, external technology flows, productivity...

Three hypotheses in relation to knowledge intensive service firms’ collaboration in relation to development of new services are explored: i) firms with a high level of absorptive capacity are more likely to collaborate on innovation than firms with a relatively low level of absorptive...

Twenty years have passed since Nelson and Winter (1982) proposed routines as the unit of analysis of an evolutionary theory of economic change. Since then, the concept of routines has been taken up widely in the economics and business literature. Many ambiguities and open questions still...