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Opening the black box of entrepreneurship: The Italian case in a historical perspective

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  • Pier Angelo Toninelli
  • Michelangelo Vasta

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to shed light on the Italian entrepreneurship between the beginning of the second industrial revolution and the end of the twentieth century. It is based on a new dataset concerning the profiles of 386 entrepreneurs. The results are twofold: first, by proposing an empirically based taxonomy of Italian entrepreneurs not exclusively founded on intuitions and qualitative judgements, the article provide valuable interpretative elements; second, the article puts forward some hypotheses about the relationship between entrepreneurship and Italian economic growth. In particular a cluster analysis singles out five different entrepreneurial typologies characterised by a widespread tendency to search for new markets, yet a scarce attitude towards innovation. Further it is suggested that the evolution of the institutional context slowed down the development of the entrepreneurial abilities and virtues necessary to grow.

Suggested Citation

  • Pier Angelo Toninelli & Michelangelo Vasta, 2014. "Opening the black box of entrepreneurship: The Italian case in a historical perspective," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 161-186, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:56:y:2014:i:2:p:161-186
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2012.745068
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    Cited by:

    1. Paolo Di Martino & Michelangelo Vasta, 2012. "Happy 150th Birthday Italy? Institutions and Economic Performance Since 1861," Department of Economics University of Siena 662, Department of Economics, University of Siena.
    2. Alessandro Nuvolari & Pier Angelo Toninelli & Michelangelo Vasta, 2018. "What makes a successful (and famous) entrepreneur? Historical evidence from Italy (XIX-XX centuries)," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(3), pages 425-447.
    3. Alberto Rinaldi & Giulia Tagliazucchi, 2018. "Women Entrepreneurs in Italy: A Prosopographic Study," Department of Economics 0129, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    4. Nuvolari, Alessandro & Vasta, Michelangelo, 2015. "The Ghost in the Attic? The Italian National Innovation System in Historical Perspective, 1861–2011," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 270-290, June.
    5. Ortiz-Villajos, José M. & Sotoca, Sonia, 2018. "Innovation and business survival: A long-term approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1418-1436.
    6. Emanuele Felice & Amedeo Lepore, 2017. "State intervention and economic growth in Southern Italy: the rise and fall of the ‘Cassa per il Mezzogiorno’ (1950–1986)," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(3), pages 319-341, April.
    7. Ortiz-Villajos, José M., 2024. "Dynamics of innovation over time: Evidence from the Spanish business elite," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 378-394.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N83 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N84 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Europe: 1913-
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship

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