While many firms compete through the development of new technologies and products, it is well known that new-to-the-world innovation is inherently risky and therefore may increase the probability of firm death. However, many existing studies consistently find a negative association between...

It is now stylized that, while the impact of ownership on firm productivity is unclear, product market competition can be expected to have a positive impact on productivity, thereby making entry (or contestability of markets) desirable. Traditional research in the context of entry has explored...

This paper discusses the determinants of three alternative measures of innovative output by looking at firm's own formal Ramp;D activities and at the acquisition of external technology (TA) in its embodied and disembodied components. These input-output relationships are also discussed by...

Using a balanced panel of 215 Italian manufacturing firms over the 1995-2000 period, this paper investigates the determinants of Ramp;D investment at the level of the firm. While finding further support for the well-established technology-push and demand-pull hypotheses, this study also tests...

In this paper we investigate the effect of local banking development on firms' innovative activities, using a rich data set on innovation for a large number of Italian firms over the 1990's. There is evidence that banking development affects the probability of process innovation, particularly...