This paper presents a critical review of the Global Value Chain literature in light of the “Technological Capabilities” approach to innovation in LDCs. Participation in GVC is beneficial for firms in LDCs, which are bound to source technology internationally. However, the issues of learning...

Patents for inventions are at the crossroad of law, technology and economics, with the Patent System resting on two fundamental assumptions: one, that technical progress is desirable and that disclosure is preferable to secrecy; two, that a competitive market economy is in the public interest,...

This paper has been prompted by an increasing sense of dissatisfaction with the current fashion of criticising the so-called “Linear Model” of innovation. LM). The frequency and hostility of remarks against the linear model raises the suspicion that something is wrong indeed. Why so much...

This paper examines how the nature of the technological regime governing innovative activities and the structure of demand interact in determining market structure, with specific reference to the pharmaceutical industry. The key question concerns the observation that - despite high degrees of...

The main goal of this paper is to assess the impact of product innovation on the economic performance of firms operating in medium and high-tech industries in general and of SMEs in particular. Using information from a large and unique dataset on Italian firms we estimate, by means of propensity...

Modularity scholars argue that modular architectures lead to higher strategic flexibility through mass customisation and through both incremental and architectural innovation. There is little empirical evidence, however, on whether modular firms actually achieve the expected advantages. In this...