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From organizational capabilities to corporate performances: at the roots of productivity slowdown

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  • Stefano Costa
  • Stefano De Santis
  • Giovanni Dosi
  • Roberto Monducci
  • Angelica Sbardella
  • Maria Enrica Virgillito

Abstract

This paper is one of the first attempts at empirically identifying organisational capabilities - in this work concerning Italian firms. Together, it proposes new evidence on the link between capabilities and economic performances. In order to do so, we employ the Indagine Multiscopo del Censimento Permanente delle Imprese (IMCPI), a survey carried out by the Italian Statistical Office (ISTAT) in 2019, covering the three-year period 2016-2018, addressing a wide range of organizational characteristics including various organizational routines, human resource management, internationalisation strategies and many others. Our contribution is threefold: first, we aim at detecting what practices and combinations of them result in underlying different capabilities; second, we propose a taxonomy of the production system, both at firm- and sector-level based on the mapping of such capabilities, third we study the performance outcomes of different capability-taxa in terms of productivity and employment growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefano Costa & Stefano De Santis & Giovanni Dosi & Roberto Monducci & Angelica Sbardella & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "From organizational capabilities to corporate performances: at the roots of productivity slowdown," LEM Papers Series 2021/21, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2021/21
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stefano Costa & Stefano De Santis & Giovanni Dosi & Roberto Monducci & Angelica Sbardella & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2021. "Firm responses to the pandemic crisis: sticky capabilites and widespread restructuring," LEM Papers Series 2021/48, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    2. Lorenzo Cresti & Giovanni Dosi & Federico Riccio & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Italy and the Trap of GVC Downgrading: Labour Dependence in the European Geography of Production," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(3), pages 869-906, November.
    3. Giovanni Dosi, 2022. "The Agenda for Evolutionary Economics: Results, Dead Ends, and Challenges Ahead," LEM Papers Series 2022/24, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    4. Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2022. "Strategic sectors and essential jobs: a new taxonomy based on employment multipliers," LEM Papers Series 2022/23, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    5. Lorenzo Cresti & Maria Enrica Virgillito, 2023. "Weak sectors and weak ties? Labour dependence and asymmetric positioning in GVCs," LEM Papers Series 2023/10, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.

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    Keywords

    Organizational capabilities; productivity slowdown; employment growth; learning.;
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