Productivity growth persistence: firm strategies, size and system properties

Abstract

ABSTRACT.This paper investigates the dynamics of productivity in a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms, focusing on the determinants of firm-level persistence in time of high Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth rates relative to the corresponding sectoral distributions. In particular, we assess the impact of both the internal characteristics of companies, including size and management strategies, and external systemic conditions, including business cycles and regional innovation performance. In order to disentangle the effects of the mix of internal and systemic factors in shaping firm-level persistence, we implement both Transition Probability Matrices and dynamic probit models. Results reveal the presence of significant persistence in TFP growth rates. Such persistence turns out to be path dependent since it is shaped by a number of complementary and contingent factors that locally affect the dynamics of the process.

Innovation, internationalisation and the performance of microbusinesses

“…Innovation is recognised as a source of competitive advantage through which firms transform capabilities and resources into performance outcomes (Barney, 1991). How firms innovate and how innovation affects firm performance has attracted significant attention (Antonelli et al, 2015). While these questions have been widely investigated for manufacturing firms, typically large ones, the understanding of the development of microbusinesses remains limited (Love and Roper, 2015).…”

The role of regional context on innovation persistency of firms

“…In order to investigate whether firms’ innovation persistency exist or not (and if yes, to what extent across various regional regimes), as a first and common step, we used transition probabilities matrix (TPM) (Antonelli et al ). TPM reveals the information about the probability of transitioning from one state to another.…”

The Export Competitiveness of Social Enterprises as Compared to With Export Smes

“…In relation to this, we wanted to know, if that growth was due to an improvement also in the regional competitiveness and what types of enterprises is based on, that is, whether SMEs in the social economy have had a more competitive performance than the other regional SMEs (Charlo, Núñez and Sánchez-Apellániz, 2016). In fact, Myro, Álvarez, Fernández-Otheo, Rodríguez and Vega (2013) or Antonelli, Crespi and Scellato (2015), among other specialists, recently said that Andalusia is a dynamic region with greater weight in the national aggregate of foreign sales and increased market share as a result of its improved competitiveness. Certainly, our starting point is our ignorance, in quantitative terms, about the difference between the competitiveness of enterprises in the social economy during 2013 and all exporting Andalusian enterprises.…”