IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uto/labeco/201205.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Persistence of innovation and knowledge structure: Evidence from a sample of Italian firms

Author

Listed:

Abstract

The paper investigates the patterns of persistence of knowledge and innovation across a sample of Italian firms in the period 1998-2006. While most of the empirical analysis of persistence focus on innovation as proxied by capital stock or the introduction of process/product innovation, this paper proposes to investigate the persistence of knowledge structure. The analysis draws upon a theoretical representation of knowledge as a collective good, stemming from the recombination of knowledge bits that are fragmented and dispersed across economic agents. In this perspective, knowledge is a co-relational structure, whereby the constituting elements are connected in a dense network of interlinks. On this basis, we derived some important properties of knowledge structure, i.e. the coherence, the cognitive distance and the variety, and investigated their pattern of persistence over time. The empirical analysis is implemented by exploring the autocorrelation structure of such properties within a quantile regression framework, and compare them with the more familiar evidence about knowledge stock. The results suggest that the properties of knowledge are featured by somewhat different patterns with respect to knowledge stock, and that such evidence is also heterogeneous across firms in different quantiles..

Suggested Citation

  • Colombelli Alessandra & Quatraro Francesco, 2012. "Persistence of innovation and knowledge structure: Evidence from a sample of Italian firms," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201205, University of Turin.
    • Handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:201205
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.est.unito.it/do/home.pl/Download?doc=/allegati_wp/wp2012dip_l_b/5_wp_momigliano.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giulio Bottazzi & Alex Coad & Nadia Jacoby & Angelo Secchi, 2011. "Corporate growth and industrial dynamics: evidence from French manufacturing," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(1), pages 103-116.
    2. Saviotti, Pier Paolo, 2007. "On the dynamics of generation and utilisation of knowledge: The local character of knowledge," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 387-408, December.
    3. Antonelli,Cristiano, 2013. "The economics of technological congruence," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201304, University of Turin.
    4. Bettina Peters, 2009. "Persistence of innovation: stylised facts and panel data evidence," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 226-243, April.
    5. Mansfield, Edwin, 1980. "Basic Research and Productivity Increase in Manufacturing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(5), pages 863-873, December.
    6. Nesta, Lionel, 2008. "Knowledge and productivity in the world's largest manufacturing corporations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(3-4), pages 886-902, September.
    7. repec:fth:harver:1473 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro & Pier-Paolo Saviotti, 2008. "Evolution of the knowledge base in knowledge intensive sectors," Working Papers hal-00264261, HAL.
    9. Francesco Quatraro, 2010. "The Economics of Structural Change in Knowledge," Post-Print halshs-00727628, HAL.
    10. Carolina Castaldi & Giovanni Dosi, 2009. "The patterns of output growth of firms and countries: Scale invariances and scale specificities," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 475-495, December.
    11. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Patent Statistics as Economic Indicators: A Survey," NBER Chapters,in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 287-343 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Martin L. Weitzman, 1998. "Recombinant Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 113(2), pages 331-360.
    13. Geroski, P. A. & Van Reenen, J. & Walters, C. F., 1997. "How persistently do firms innovate?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 33-48, March.
    14. Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark, 2000. "Design Rules, Volume 1: The Power of Modularity," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262024667, January.
    15. Giulio Bottazzi & Angelo Secchi, 2006. "Explaining the distribution of firm growth rates," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 37(2), pages 235-256, June.
    16. Allen, Robert C., 1983. "Collective invention," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 1-24, March.
    17. Teece, David J. & Rumelt, Richard & Dosi, Giovanni & Winter, Sidney, 1994. "Understanding corporate coherence : Theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-30, January.
    18. Alex Coad, 2007. "A Closer Look at Serial Growth Rate Correlation," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 31(1), pages 69-82, August.
    19. Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro & Pier Paolo Saviotti, 2011. "The knowledge-base evolution in biotechnology: a social network analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 445-475.
    20. Alessandra Colombelli & Nick von Tunzelmann, 2011. "The Persistence of Innovation and Path Dependence," Chapters,in: Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 4 Edward Elgar Publishing.
    21. Alex Coad & Werner Hölzl, 2008. "On the Autocorrelation of Growth Rates: Evidence for Micro, Small and Large Firms from the Austrian Service Industries, 1975-2004," WIFO Working Papers 332, WIFO.
    22. Harry Bloch & Stan Metcalfe, 2011. "Complexity in the Theory of the Developing Firm," Chapters,in: Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 3 Edward Elgar Publishing.
    23. Ron Boschma & Simona Iammarino, 2009. "Related Variety, Trade Linkages, and Regional Growth in Italy," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 85(3), pages 289-311, July.
    24. Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi & Peretto, Pietro, 1997. "Persistence of innovative activities, sectoral patterns of innovation and international technological specialization," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 801-826, October.
    25. Breschi, Stefano & Lissoni, Francesco & Malerba, Franco, 2003. "Knowledge-relatedness in firm technological diversification," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 69-87, January.
    26. Koen Frenken & Frank Van Oort & Thijs Verburg, 2007. "Related Variety, Unrelated Variety and Regional Economic Growth," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 685-697.
    27. Nightingale, Paul, 1998. "A cognitive model of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(7), pages 689-709, November.
    28. Alex Coad, 2010. "Exploring the processes of firm growth: evidence from a vector auto-regression," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(6), pages 1677-1703, December.
    29. Zvi Griliches, 1998. "Issues in Assessing the Contribution of Research and Development to Productivity Growth," NBER Chapters,in: R&D and Productivity: The Econometric Evidence, pages 17-45 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    30. Lionel Nesta & Pier-Paolo Saviotti, 2006. "Firm knowledge and market value in biotechnology," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 625-652, August.
    31. Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro, 2011. "The dynamics of technological knowledge," Post-Print halshs-00727633, HAL.
    32. Roper, Stephen & Hewitt-Dundas, Nola, 2008. "Innovation persistence: Survey and case-study evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 149-162, February.
    33. Oscar Alfranca & Ruth Rama & Nicholas von Tunzelmann, 2002. "A patent analysis of global food and beverage firms: The persistence of innovation," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(3), pages 349-368.
    34. Elena Cefis & Matteo Ciccarelli, 2005. "Profit differentials and innovation," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1-2), pages 43-61.
    35. G. Bottazzi & E. Cefis & G. Dosi & A. Secchi, 2007. "Invariances and Diversities in the Patterns of Industrial Evolution: Some Evidence from Italian Manufacturing Industries," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 137-159, June.
    36. Cefis, Elena, 2003. "Is there persistence in innovative activities?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 489-515, April.
    37. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:uto:labeco:201205. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Piero Cavaleri) or (Marina Grazioli). General contact details of provider: http://edirc.repec.org/data/leifrit.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.