This paper examines the results of a survey carried out in 2007 by the Bank of Italy concerning different characteristics of the organization of lending activities. Between 2003 and 2006 the physical distance between the headquarters and the branches increased, the limits to the decision-making...

The systems of innovation (SI) approach has been established and extended during the last two decades. Although elementary goals and progress have been reached through seminal contributions by Freeman (1987), Lundvall (1992) or Nelson (1993), in designing a generic approach, displaying the...

The emergence and solidification of network patterns is typically explained by the preferential attachment rule. The underlying logic is that a small number of actors which are characterized by an above average degree attract links at a higher rate than others. We raise the question as to what...

Human knowledge is a human creation: we seek to make sense by creating patterns, which are tested in various ways and with differing degrees and kinds of rigour. For each individual cognition is a scarce resource, but different people can apply it in diverse ways and to diverse subjects: each...

In this note, we construct two theoretical models that analyze the relationship between inequality of access and rates of innovation as well as correlative data that show a negative correlation between income inequality and levels of innovativeness. Our two models suggest that unequal access to...

Open innovation is key for innovators responding to major problems in the world, including energy, healthcare, water and the environment, and bringing transitions in socio-technical systems near. This paper has a focus on university spin-off companies as a channel of market introduction of new...

The emergence and solidification of network patterns is typically explained by the preferential attachment rule. The underlying logic is that a small number of actors which are characterized by an above average degree attract links at a higher rate than others. We raise the question as to what...

The productivity paradox has sparked a great deal of research during the past three decades. Unfortunately, neither the results of empirical research nor the theoretical explanations for the paradox provide a convincing answer to whether investments in information and communication technology...

The paper sketches out a theoretical framework for analysing the interplay between eco-efficiency, cognition and institutions. It derives from analytical shortfalls of the prevailing literature, which features strongly engineering and business economics, by using insights from New Institutional...

Sustainable intensification of Ghana’s smallholder farming is critical to mitigate rural poverty. Innovations for sustainable intensification include agro-ecological practices, which build up soil fertility, and mulching, which conserves soil moisture. To stimulate the adoption of these...