Small-medium firms represent more than 90% of Italian firms, 50% of Italian production and 2/3 of employment and they need support in innovation process especially in known technology. The small-medium firm, in fact, operates chiefly in medium to low technology sectors, but cannot for this...

Continuous innovations in product and process technology, coupled with time-to-market pressure, have made rapid product development a key strategic objective of manufacturing firms. Consequently, many firms have started to redefine the ways in which products are designed, developed and produced,...

The chances offered in Italy for financial aids are several, but the effective instruments to foster innovation and R&D are very few. In this context, in the last decade, the initiatives of the European Union and of the Italian Regions were remarkable and have increased the opportunities for...

This working paper is based on research carried out by Ceris-CNR in the context of the intemational research project on "Product Development and Production Networks: A Comparison of Countries and Sectors" coordinated at the Science Center of Berlin (WZB). In contrast to other researches on...

The Spanish case offers a particularly interesting opportunity to consider the innovative policies of a country that, after great difficulties, is becoming competitive in the machine tool world market. Firms in the Basque Country, and Spanish companies as a whole, are facing the actual economic...

The aim of this working paper is to analyse the best practices of a sample of manufacturing firms that have carried out lasting best performance in terms of solvency, growth and profitability. Firstly, the paper analyses the factors that have favoured or hindered best performance, that is: size;...

Pubblicazione promossa dalla Regione Piemonte, Direzione Industria, Settore Osservatorio Settori Produttivi Industriali e redatta dal Ceris-Cnr

The aim of this paper is to match the Italian small-medium firms’ (SMEs) need for technological innovation and the state and regional aid programs aimed at supporting innovation and technology. The purpose is to highlight existing capabilities and new opportunities in support of Italian SMEs...

The industrial structure of many European countries is dominated by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Although SMEs consider the new product development process fundamental for the success in the global market, the level of formalisation of the innovation process is very low (Slywotzky et...

Pubblicazione promossa dalla Regione Piemonte, Direzione Industria, Settore Osservatorio Settori Produttivi Industriali e redatta dal Ceris-Cnr.