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Waiting for Godot? Success or failure of firms’ growth in a panel of Italian manufacturing firms

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  • Bartoloni, Eleonora
  • Baussola, Maurizio
  • Bagnato, Luca

Abstract

Firms’ ability to compete in the global market crucially depends on their ability to innovate and to introduce new products or processes into the market. This typically requires more complex and structured business organization and ultimately the ability to grow. We use a representative panel of Italian manufacturing firms to investigate whether their pattern of growth entails such an ability. Although the estimates suggest that small firms grow faster than larger ones, we do not observe a significant change in the average size of companies at the end of the period under investigation. The greater propensity to grow shown by smaller firms is confined to the size class in which they are established. However, export intensity plays a significant role in affecting the size growth rate together with industry characteristics related to technological levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Bartoloni, Eleonora & Baussola, Maurizio & Bagnato, Luca, 2020. "Waiting for Godot? Success or failure of firms’ growth in a panel of Italian manufacturing firms," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 259-275.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:55:y:2020:i:c:p:259-275
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2020.08.007
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Firm size distribution; Corporate growth; Gibrat’s law;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • L21 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Business Objectives of the Firm
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • L6 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing

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