This paper investigates the relationships between firm organization attributes, namely a structure á la Chandler, and their inward looking or “exploitation” attitude in R&D and innovation. We argue that because of sunk costs and learning processes an inward looking behavior is a consequence...

By drawing information from a survey of inventors of 9,017 European patents (PatVal-EU), this paper provides novel and detailed data about the characteristics of the European inventors, the sources of their knowledge, the importance of formal and informal collaborations among researchers and...

In this work we discuss the impact of the new ICT techno-economic paradigm upon the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the firm and ask whether the change in the sources of competitive advantage has resulted in changes in the size distribution of firms and also in the degree of concentration...

This paper links the rise of new industries populated by skill-intensive companies, and the divergence in labour incomes between skills. Our model explains inequality by the fact that as the skilled workers move towards new Silicon-Valley type firms, the reduced complementarity between skilled...

This paper purports to explain some recent trends in several advanced economies. Our model shows that the rise of new scientific and technological opportunities, and particularly the opportunities to develop riskier technological projects, is at the basis of the blossoming of small-medium sized...

This paper studies the relationship between NSF funding and the publications of US economists using data on 1473 applications to NSF during 1985-1990, 414 of which were awarded a research grant. We first outline a basic methodology for assessing the impact of the NSF support for basic research...

This book re-examines the rationale for public policy, concluding that the prevailing ‘public knowledge' model is evolving towards a networked or distributed model of knowledge production and use in which public and private institutions play complementary roles. It provides a set of tools and...