IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joevec/v23y2013i1p77-96.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Complexity and technological change: knowledge interactions and firm level total factor productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Cristiano Antonelli
  • Giuseppe Scellato

Abstract

The analysis of social interactions as drivers of economic dynamics represents a growing field within the economics of complexity. Social interactions are a specific form of interdependence whereby the changes in the behavior of other agents affect utility functions for households and production functions for producers. In this paper, we apply the general concept of social interactions to the area of the economics of innovation and we articulate the view that knowledge interactions play a central role in the generation of new technological knowledge so that innovation becomes the emergent property of a system, rather than the product of individual actions. In particular, we articulate and test the hypothesis that different layers of knowledge interactions play a crucial role in determining the rate of technological change that each firm is able to introduce. The paper presents an empirical analysis of firm level total factor productivity (TFP) for a sample of 7,020 Italian manufacturing companies observed during the years 1996–2005. This will enable us to identify the distinctive role of regional, inter-industrial and localized intra-industrial knowledge interactions as distinctive and significant determinants, together with internal research and innovation efforts, of changes in firm level TFP. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Cristiano Antonelli & Giuseppe Scellato, 2013. "Complexity and technological change: knowledge interactions and firm level total factor productivity," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 77-96, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joevec:v:23:y:2013:i:1:p:77-96
    DOI: 10.1007/s00191-012-0299-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s00191-012-0299-8
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00191-012-0299-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Benjamin F. Jones, 2009. "The Burden of Knowledge and the "Death of the Renaissance Man": Is Innovation Getting Harder?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(1), pages 283-317.
    2. Winter, Sidney G., 1984. "Schumpeterian competition in alternative technological regimes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 287-320.
    3. von Hippel, Eric, 1976. "The dominant role of users in the scientific instrument innovation process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 212-239, July.
    4. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    5. Charles F. Manski, 2000. "Economic Analysis of Social Interactions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 115-136, Summer.
    6. Martin L. Weitzman, 1998. "Recombinant Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(2), pages 331-360.
    7. Becker, Gary S, 1991. "A Note on Restaurant Pricing and Other Examples of Social Influences on Price," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(5), pages 1109-1116, October.
    8. Tibor Scitovsky, 1954. "Two Concepts of External Economies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(2), pages 143-143.
    9. Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), 2011. "Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13391.
    10. Fleming, Lee & Sorenson, Olav, 2001. "Technology as a complex adaptive system: evidence from patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1019-1039, August.
    11. Weitzman, Martin L, 1996. "Hybridizing Growth Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(2), pages 207-212, May.
    12. Steven N. Durlauf, 2005. "Complexity and Empirical Economics," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(504), pages 225-243, June.
    13. Emmanuel Duguet, 2006. "Innovation height, spillovers and tfp growth at the firm level: Evidence from French manufacturing," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(4-5), pages 415-442.
    14. Mansfield, Edwin & Schwartz, Mark & Wagner, Samuel, 1981. "Imitation Costs and Patents: An Empirical Study," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(364), pages 907-918, December.
    15. Philippe Aghion & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt & Susanne Prantl, 2004. "Entry and Productivity Growth: Evidence from Microlevel Panel Data," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 2(2-3), pages 265-276, 04/05.
    16. Horst Hanusch & Andreas Pyka, 2007. "Principles of Neo-Schumpeterian Economics," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 31(2), pages 275-289, March.
    17. Edward L. Glaeser & Bruce Sacerdote & José A. Scheinkman, 1996. "Crime and Social Interactions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 507-548.
    18. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2007. "The system dynamics of collective knowledge: From gradualism and saltationism to punctuated change," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 215-236, February.
    19. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    20. Agnieszka Gehringer, 2011. "Pecuniary knowledge externalities and innovation: intersectoral linkages and their effects beyond technological spillovers," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 495-515.
    21. Edward L. Glaeser & Jose Scheinkman, 2000. "Non-Market Interactions," NBER Working Papers 8053, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Schumpeter, Joseph A., 1947. "The Creative Response in Economic History," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 149-159, November.
    23. Charles F. Manski, 2003. "Identification Problems in the Social Sciences and Everyday Life," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 70(1), pages 11-21, July.
    24. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Katz, Michael L & Shapiro, Carl, 1986. "Technology Adoption in the Presence of Network Externalities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 822-841, August.
    26. Koen Frenken, 2006. "Technological innovation and complexity theory," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(2), pages 137-155.
    27. Jacques Mairesse & Philippe Cunéo, 1985. "Recherche-développement et performances des entreprises : une étude économétrique sur données individuelles," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 36(5), pages 1001-1042.
    28. Cincera, Michele, 1997. "Patents, R&D, and Technological Spillovers at the Firm Level: Some Evidence from Econometric Count Models for Panel Data," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 265-280, May-June.
    29. Eric von Hippel, 1998. "Economics of Product Development by Users: The Impact of "Sticky" Local Information," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(5), pages 629-644, May.
    30. Richard R. Nelson, 1959. "The Simple Economics of Basic Scientific Research," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(3), pages 297-297.
    31. Fransman,Martin, 2010. "The New ICT Ecosystem," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521171205, October.
    32. Luigi Guiso & Fabiano Schivardi, 2007. "Spillovers in Industrial Districts," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(516), pages 68-93, January.
    33. Henderson, Vernon, 1997. "Externalities and Industrial Development," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 449-470, November.
    34. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    35. Fransman,Martin, 2010. "The New ICT Ecosystem," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521191319, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Areti Gkypali & Apostolos Rafailidis & Kostas Tsekouras, 2015. "Innovation and export performance: do young and mature innovative firms differ?," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 5(2), pages 397-415, December.
    2. Hidemichi Fujii & Kazuma Edamura & Koichi Sumikura & Yoko Furusawa & Naomi Fukuzawa & Shunsuke Managi, 2015. "How enterprise strategies are related to innovation and productivity change: an empirical study of Japanese manufacturing firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 248-262, April.
    3. Fanti, Lucrezia & Guarascio, Dario & Tubiana, Matteo, 2019. "Skill Gap, Mismatch, and the Dynamics of Italian Companies’ Productivity," MPRA Paper 95694, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Chatzistamoulou, Nikos & Kounetas, Kostas & Tsekouras, Kostas, 2022. "Technological hierarchies and learning: Spillovers, complexity, relatedness, and the moderating role of absorptive capacity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    5. Tran Toan Thang & Thi Song Hanh Pham & Bradley R. Barnes, 2016. "Spatial Spillover Effects from Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(10), pages 1431-1445, October.
    6. Lopamudra D. Satpathy & Bani Chatterjee & Jitendra Mahakud, 2017. "Firm Characteristics and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Firms," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 77-98, February.
    7. Ke-Liang Wang & Ting-Ting Sun & Ru-Yu Xu, 2023. "The impact of artificial intelligence on total factor productivity: empirical evidence from China’s manufacturing enterprises," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 1113-1146, April.
    8. Toan Thang TRAN & Thi Song Hanh PHAM, 2013. "Spatial Spillovers of Foreign Direct Investment: The Case of Vietnam," Working Papers 12, Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN), Vietnam.
    9. Ning, Lutao & Guo, Rui & Chen, Kaihua, 2023. "Does FDI bring knowledge externalities for host country firms to develop complex technologies? The catalytic role of overseas returnee clustering structures," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(6).
    10. Mário Alexandre Patrício Martins da Silva, 2012. "The Knowledge Multiplier," FEP Working Papers 456, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    11. Rituparna Kaushik & Sourabh Bikas Paul, 2022. "Do Competition Improve Persistence in Innovation Effort? Sectoral Patterns and Evidence from India," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 259-296, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cristiano, Antonelli & Scellato, Giuseppe, 2007. "Complexity and Innovation: Social Interactions and Firm Level Total Factor Productivity," 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 200709, University of Turin.
    2. Cristiano Antonelli, 2011. "The Economic Complexity of Technological Change: Knowledge Interaction and Path Dependence," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Cristiano Antonelli & Federico Barbiellini Amidei, 2011. "The Dynamics of Knowledge Externalities," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13292.
    4. Cristiano Antonelli, 2010. "Pecuniary Externalities and the Localized Generation of Technological Knowledge," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Antonelli Cristiano & Ferraris Gianluigi, 2012. "Endogenous knowledge externalities: an agent based simulation model where schumpeter meets Marshall," 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 201202, University of Turin.
    6. Antonelli, Cristiano & Amidei, Federico Barbiellini & Fassio, Claudio, 2014. "The mechanisms of knowledge governance: State owned enterprises and Italian economic growth, 1950–1994," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 43-63.
    7. Cristiano Antonelli, 2013. "Knowledge Governance," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(1), pages 62-70, February.
    8. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2013. "Globalization Localized Technological Change and the Knowledge Economy," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201325, University of Turin.
    9. Antonelli, Cristiano & Gehringer, Agnieszka, 2015. "Knowledge externalities and demand pull: The European evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 608-631.
    10. Antonelli Cristiano & Colombelli Alessandra, 2013. "Knowledge cumulability and complementarity in the knowledge generation function," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201305, University of Turin.
    11. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2017. "Digital knowledge generation and the appropriability trade-off," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 991-1002.
    12. Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro, 2011. "The Dynamics of Technological Knowledge: From Linearity to Recombination," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    13. Taalbi, Josef, 2017. "What drives innovation? Evidence from economic history," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(8), pages 1437-1453.
    14. Cristiano Antonelli & Gianluigi Ferraris, 2018. "The creative response and the endogenous dynamics of pecuniary knowledge externalities: an agent based simulation model," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 13(3), pages 561-599, October.
    15. Cristiano Antonelli & Alessandra Colombelli, 2018. "The cost of knowledge," Chapters, in: The Evolutionary Complexity of Endogenous Innovation, chapter 6, pages 128-150, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Davide Consoli & Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2011. "Complexity and the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: The Case of Innovation Platforms," Chapters, in: Cristiano Antonelli (ed.), Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Antonelli, Cristiano, 2008. "Pecuniary Externalities: the Convergence of Directed Technological Change and the Emergence of Innovation Systems," 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 200807, University of Turin.
    18. Cohen, Wesley M., 2010. "Fifty Years of Empirical Studies of Innovative Activity and Performance," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 129-213, Elsevier.
    19. Davide Consoli & Pier Paolo Patrucco, 2011. "Complexity and the Coordination of Technological Knowledge: The Case of Innovation Platforms," Chapters, in: Handbook on the Economic Complexity of Technological Change, chapter 8 Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Griffith, Rachel & Lee, Sokbae & Straathof, Bas, 2017. "Recombinant innovation and the boundaries of the firm," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 34-56.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    External knowledge; Social interactions; Complexity; Total factor productivity; O31; O33; L22;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure

    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:spr:joevec:v:23:y:2013:i:1:p:77-96. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 bibliographic 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.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.