Antonello Zanfei

Università degli Studi di Urbino "Carlo Bo" | UNIURB · Faculty of Economics

This chapter first offers a brief review of the conceptual aspects related to the ‘smile curve hypothesis’. Moreover, we use data on inward foreign direct investments (FDIs) to provide an empirical assessment of the functional specialization of economies belonging to North American, Asian and European production networks, and the upgrading/downgrad...

A growing concern has emerged in both academic research and policy circles about the hidden risks that can arise from a narrow specialization of economies in a world characterized by the international fragmentation of production. In this work, we address the virtues and limits of specialization in light of the strong interdependencies between count...

This work provides a new empirical assessment of global economic hierarchies and the associated unequal distribution of value between core and peripheral economies. This is accomplished by looking at the functional division of labour induced by the international fragmentation of production and the related value capture dynamics in global value chai...

This work provides a new empirical assessment of global economic hierarchies and the associated unequal distribution of value between core and peripheral economies. This is accomplished by looking at the functional division of labour induced by the international fragmentation of production and the related value capture dynamics in global value chai...

This paper investigates the impact of climate change on within-country income inequality for more than 150 nations over the period 2003–2017. Specifically, we control for a large number of determinants of income disparities detected by extant literature and focus on agriculture as one of the most crucial channels in the climate change-inequality ne...

With a focus on a key production technology of the fourth industrial revolution, we look at the measurable impact of inward foreign direct investments (FDIs) and other host-country-specific factors on the adoption of industrial robots along two main segments of the automotive value chain. We find that FDIs per se do not have a significant effect on...

Bridging perspectives from complementary research streams, this chapter offers an overview of the cross-border innovation phenomenon and argues that in recent decades it has not only increased in intensity, but also changed qualitatively. The authors submit that a comprehensive understanding of these profound transformations calls for a renewed res...

This paper explores the main drivers of firms' external competitiveness in times of crisis. We focus on the aftermath of the Great Recession (2008-2015) and present evidence based on a comprehensive survey of Italian companies (the MET dataset). Overall, our results highlight not only the strict correlation between internationalization and innovati...

Over the last three decades cross-border innovation has profoundly changed. The global fragmentation of global value chains, increased global connectedness, and pervasive digitalization have contributed to shaping innovation processes that increasingly span country borders. This process of change has involved a wide array of actors (players) in a v...

The geographical dispersion of value-added activities triggered by the ‘great unbundling’ of production has made the race for competitiveness increasingly shaped by the capability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to orchestrate global innovation networks at world scale. However, major differences in the distribution of foreign investments acros...

This paper builds on (eco-)innovation geography and international business studies to investigate the effects of greenfield foreign direct investments (FDIs) on regional specialisation in environmental technologies. Combining the OECD-REGPAT and the fDi Markets datasets with respect to 1,050 European NUTS3 regions over the 2003–2014 period, we find...

Using a novel dataset on the diffusion of public eServices at the city level in EU 15, this paper contributes to extant empirical literature in three ways. First, it extends the coverage of public eServices beyond eGovernment, investigating four service categories: Infomobility, eProcurement, eGovernment and eHealth. Second, it provides information...

This paper examines how foreign multinationals (FMN) and domestic multinationals (DMN) differ in R&D outsourcing and cooperation. We argue that the propensity of DMN and FMN to create such R&D linkages reflects their specific balance between advantages and challenges of multinationality. On the one hand, both FMN and DMN rely on a combination of ho...

This paper analyzes the main drivers of external competitiveness in times of crisis for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We focus on the Italian experience in the midst of the financial and sovereign-debt crisis, and present robust evidence based on a comprehensive survey of Italian companies in the manufacturing and production service sectors...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a major disruption in global value chains (GVCs) that pushed the global economy into a recession that promises to be worse than the 2008 crisis. This article illustrates the mechanisms through which the COVID-19 pandemic affected GVCs in the context of a changing configuration of the global economy. In particular, it...

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analyzed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unf...

This paper explores the relationship between inward foreign direct investments and the adoption of industrial robots, across different segments of the automotive value chain. Using the International Federation of Robotics and FDI Market datasets at a fine level of disaggregation of the automotive sector, we investigate the extent to which FDIs are...

This paper evaluates the effect of host‐country environmental policy stringency on the offshoring of green patents for 2000 top world R&D performers. It is shown that a more stringent environmental regulation triggers patent offshoring in the field of green technologies. Results are robust to various different specifications, to alternative definit...

This paper provides an in-depth study on the main firm-level drivers of external competitiveness during the recent crisis in Italy. We contribute to the debate on the Italian international position by presenting evidence based on a unique sample survey database (the MET dataset). Overall, our results confirm the high degree of heterogeneity of the...

Este artículo, con datos sobre I+D en Italia, mide la capacidad de las empresas multinacionales de crear enlaces tecnológicos (I+D Extra-muros y Cooperación en I+D). Se encuentra que las multinacionales italianas son más propensas en hacer I+D Extramuros, mientras las multinacionales extranjeras desarrollan más la Cooperación en I+D. De todas forma...

Using data on R&D performers active in Italy, we explore the effects of multinationality on the propensity to R&D cooperation. A fundamental departure from previous empirical literature is that we do not consider only subsidiaries of foreign MNEs but also domestic owned MNEs active in the observed country. First, the whole subset of firms active in...

This paper reflects on what remains of Becattini’s utopia in the new context of a globalized and digital economy. Can one still foresee a global world populated with local societies able to produce value by following their own inspirations and chorally participating in a world-wide division of cognitive labor? It is suggested that the interpretive...

We argue that the present economic crisis reflects the on-going transition towards a networked, knowledge based, globalised economy, and this transition affects the role of industrial policies. From this perspective, we suggest that the State should intervene along three main lines. First, action is needed to make the quality and innovative potenti...

This paper examines the co-evolution of public governance and innovation, and proposes an adaptation of Hartley's model to take into consideration such co-evolution. This model is then applied to a longitudinal case study of the digitalization of Roskilde University Library. The theoretical and empirical analysis yields four main results. First, it...

This paper accounts for recent developments in the literature on public sector innovation and offers some insights on the conceptual and empirical issues that are raised to evaluate the complementarity between ICT adoption and performance in the case of public administrations. From this perspective, three separate sets of conceptual and empirical i...

Recent years have seen remarkable changes in the nature of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. A keyword that is often used to summarize the multi-facet aspects of this transformation is “offshoring” which can be broadly defined as firms’ allocation of economic activities to another country, either by obtaining goods and services from...

This paper focuses on the links between labor market institutions and offshoring, with specific reference to the role of codetermination in shaping the international operations of German firms. We use case studies to illustrate how works councils deal with three important aspects of offshoring processes: the timeliness of information they receive f...

While it is widely acknowledged that internal R&D is a fundamental source of the ability to absorb, select and use external knowledge, severe data limitations prevent from capturing differences across firms in this respect. Using a novel dataset supplied by the Italian Bureau of Statistics, we highlight that, when controlling for internal R&D effor...

'The book assumes an original place in the literature... Castellani and Zanfei show that the economic impact of MNEs on innovation and productivity depends on evolutionary features of firms and industries, particularly on the heterogeneity of firm strategies and behaviours... this volume contains high-quality, well-written research...'. © Davide Ca...

Offshoring is broadly defined as a firm’s allocation of business activities to another country, either by obtaining goods and services from an unaffiliated foreign company or by investing in a foreign affiliate or joint venture.Resorting to foreign unaffiliated companies is often dubbed as offshore outsourcing, including pure supply relationships a...

The idea that distance may hinder cross-border economic activities has a long tradition in both international trade and international business studies. Increasingly, this literature has highlighted the need to consider distance as a multifaceted concept including both spatial and institutional features. In this paper we argue that the complexities...

Using data from the Istat Business R&D (RS1) Survey we explore inward and outward R&D activities of different categories of firms resident in Italy in 2001-2010. From this perspective we provide detailed evidence of the role played by this country in the global creation and transmission of technology. First, foreign owned multinationals are the mos...

Public e-services are a broad and growing research field in which scholars and practitioners from different domains are involved. However, the increasing attention devoted to public e-services only partially captures the extreme variety of aspects and implications of the diffusion of information and communication technologies at all levels of publi...

This paper applies an open and transparent methodology to construct a composite indicator for the analysis of the diffusion of ICT in the public sector and the development of public e-services across Italian regions. This methodology, based on OECD/EC-JRC Handbook and incorporating experts' opinion into a Data Envelopment Analysis, will allow us to...

The special issue of Telecommunications Policy explores innovations in public e-services. Public e-services are a broad and growing research area in which scholars and practitioners from different research fields are involved. The third phase of development in this area is witnessing the blurring of the boundary between citizen and government and a...

Using data drawn from the 2007 and 2009 Istat ICT-PA surveys on 4471 Italian municipalities, we identify the technological, organizational, and contextual factors associated with the development of e-Government services in local administrations. We find that both outsourcing and internal accumulation of ICT competencies are strongly correlated to t...

This paper shows that value creation by multinational enterprises (MNEs) is the result of activities where geographic distance effects can be overcome. We submit that geographic distance has a relatively low impact on international research and development (R&D) investments, owing to the spiky nature of innovation, and to the unique ability of MNEs...

The paper deals with public eService diffusion as part of a smart growth strategy in Europe, considering eService development across Europe as a key aspect of innovation in the public sector and a long term contribution to EU competitiveness. A key element of the research presented in the paper is a novel dataset (EIBURS-TAIPS Database) providing c...

The paper deals with public eService diffusion as part of a smart growth strategy in Europe, considering eService development across Europe as a key aspect of innovation in the public sector and a long term contribution to EU competitiveness. A key element of the research presented in the paper is a novel dataset (EIBURS-TAIPS Database) providing c...

Using data on the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by 1947 Italian firms in 2004 and 2005, this paper provides evidence that is consistent with three largely complementary streams of literature on innovation diffusion. First, as suggested by epidemic models, the authors highlight the positive impact of early adopters’ pe...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to discuss the apparent paradox that multinational firms may and sometimes do pursue social benefits as their main objective. Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the grey area that lays between some consolidated analytical concepts, namely: spillovers, corporate responsibility, social cooperation an...

Combining evidence on the ownership structure, internationalisation and economic performance of Italian manufacturing companies with microdata from the second Community Innovation Survey, this paper highlights that significant differences exist in productivity and innovatory behaviour of (foreign and domestic-owned) multinationals relative to domes...

direct investment through acquisitions and implications for technological upgrading:

Using evidence from a novel data-set on international operations in which the world's largest electronics and chemical corporations were involved in 1993-97, this paper examines how multinational experience affects inter-firm linkage creation. Remarkable similarities and differences emerge across industries in this respect. On the one hand, specifi...

This paper focuses on factors associated with the development of e-government services by local public administrations (PAs) in Italy. Using data from 1,176 municipalities in 2005, we show that the combination of internal competencies and context-specific factors is different when explaining decisions to start e-government activities vs. the intens...

Public e-services are a broad and growing research field in which scholars and practitioners from different domains are involved. However, the increasing attention devoted to public e-services only partially captures the extreme variety of aspects and implications of the diffusion of information and communication technologies at all levels of publi...

The negative effect of distance is justified by the existence of transport costs which hamper the international exchange of final and intermediate goods, and by higher uncertainty about local markets. We submit that distance plays a remarkably different role in the case of R&D FDIs since they mainly involve the international transfer, absorption an...

Using data from 1,176 Italian municipalities in 2005, we identify factors associated with the development of eGovernment services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We show that the combination of internal competencies and context-specific factors is different when explaining decisions to start eGovernment activities vs. the intensity...

Using firm-level data on the Italian manufacturing industry, we examine how trade activities are related to workforce composition and wages. We contribute to empirical research on these issues in three ways. First, we provide new evidence that is consistent with multi-attribute models on firm heterogeneity and trade. We show that even after control...

Using data on the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by 1947 Italian firms in 2004 and 2005, this paper provides evidence that is consistent with three largely complementary streams of literature on innovation diffusion. First, as suggested by epidemic models, we highlight the positive impact of early adopters’ performance o...

This paper builds on appreciative theorizing that has emerged in the literature over the past decade, according to which the multinational firm (MNF) can be identified as a “double network” integrating its national and foreign subsidiaries, namely the “internal network”, with a set of contractual agreements and linkages developed with other institu...

It is argued that a new actor is emerging in international business, namely “Social Multinationals”, that is a blend of international rent-creation and pursuit of social objectives. However, it would be misleading to state that the emergence of Social Multinationals will be the natural outcome of a market driven process. Too much is left to the und...

It is suggested that our understanding of ICT adoption in the Italian economy can benefit from complementary insights derived from some of the most important theoretical approaches to sectorial diffusion of innovation (epidemic, probit and systemic). As regards the epidemic models the key variables are firms’ market performance indicators. Probit m...

Using data on 5,102 subsidiaries established in the period 1991–1999, we examine the location choice of multinational firms of different nationalities in 47 regions of five EU countries. In particular we estimate a nested logit model and find that European multinationals consider regions across different countries as relatively closer substitutes t...

This paper combines insights from different streams of literature to develop a more comprehensive framework for the analysis of knowledge transfer via value chain relationships. We integrate the existing literature in three ways. First, we consider value chain relationships as a multi-facet process of interaction between buyers and suppliers, invol...

Economic globalization implies a growing interdependence of locations and economic units across countries and regions. Technological change and multinational enterprises (MNEs) are among the primary driving forces of this process. This article attempts to evaluate the changing extent and importance of MNEs as conduits for cross-border knowledge flo...

Using data from 1176 Italian municipalities in 2005, we identify factors associated with the development of e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). We show that the combination of internal competencies and context-specific factors is different when explaining decisions to start e-government activities vs. the intensity...

How do trade activities affect firms' employment and wages structures? Using firm level data on Italian manufacturing firms, this paper adds to the existing literature, by assessing how the degree of involvement in international trade impacts on workforce composition, earning levels and wage inequality. We differentiate firms involved in both tradi...

Using data on 5509 foreign subsidiaries established in 50 regions of 8 EU countries over the period 1991–1999, we estimate a mixed logit model of the location choice of multinational firms in Europe. In particular, we focus on the role of EU Cohesion Policy in attracting foreign investors from both within and outside Europe. We find that, after con...

We use comparable micro level panel data for 14 countries and a set of identically specified empirical models to investigate the relationship between exports and productivity. Our overall results are in line with the big picture that is by now familiar from the literature: Exporters are more productive than non-exporters when observed and unobserve...

This paper addresses the issue of intra-industry heterogeneity and internationalisation. We show that, after controlling for sector, location, firm age and size, Italian manufacturing companies exhibit different economic and innovative performance according to their involvement in foreign activities. In particular, exporters show intermediate innov...

How do trade activities affect firms’ employment and wages structures? Using firm level data on Italian manufacturing firms, this paper adds to the existing literature, by assessing how the degree of involvement in international trade impacts on workforce composition, earning levels and wage inequality. We differentiate firms involved in both tradi...

This paper combines insights from different streams of literature to develop a more comprehensive framework for the analysis of technology transfer via value chain relationships. We integrate the existing literature in three ways. First, we consider value chain relationships as a multi-facet process of interaction between buyers and suppliers, invo...

Recent empirical works on the within-sector impact of inward investments on domestic firms' productivity have found rather robust evidence of no (or even negative) effects. We suggest that, among other reasons, a specification error might explain some of these results. A more general specification, which includes the usual one as a special case, is...

This paper examines the changing role of multinationals in the global generation, adoption and transfer of innovation. It is argued that the combination of traditional asset exploiting objectives with increasing asset seeking activities entails a transition of multinationals towards a double network structure. On the one hand multinationals are mor...

This article surveys the debate on the links between innovation, productivity and international production and draws some implications for the analysis of industrial dynamics. It is argued that international operations traditionally based on the exploitation of "ex ante" technological advantages tend to co-exist with cross-border activities which a...

This paper examines how heterogeneity across firms affects spillovers from multinationals. Using data on firms active in Italy in 1993-2000, it is shown that not every multinational firm is a good source of externality and not every domestic firm is equally well place to benefit from multinational activity. Positive spillovers to domestic companies...

Purpose – Focuses on a specific aspect of globalization, namely the growing role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the international organisation of production and innovation. Design/methodology/approach – Argues that the nature and characteristics of international production are changing and new opportunities for technological spillover to...

Ricerca, innovazione e ricadute sul sistema produttivo regionale. Il caso delle Marche (di Ilario Favaretto, Antonello Zanfei) - ABSTRACT: The innovative system of the Marche Region faces the challenges of international competition in conditions of relative weakness with respect to a national context which is already frail. The weakness of the Marc...

We examine the determinants of multinational firms’ location choices in Europe by estimating a nested logit model on a data-set of 5,761 foreign subsidiaries established in 55 regions in 8 EU countries over the period 1991-1999. We find that firms perceive regions across different countries as more similar than regions within national borders. This...

This paper examines how different aspects of multinational experience affect the choice of international linkage strategy. Integrating transaction cost and dynamic efficiency considerations, we empirically test the determinants of the choice between acquisitions, joint ventures (JV), and strategic alliances (SA) for the world’s largest electronics...

Using data on 5,761 foreign subsidiaries established in 55 regions of 8 EU countries over the period 1991-99, this paper examines multinational firms' location choices in Europe. We emphasise the role of EU policies and of firm specific characteristics in shaping location decisions. Our main findings are: i) national boundaries do not seem to affec...

Using a balanced panel of firm-level data on the manufacturing industry in France, Italy and Spain over the1992–1997 period, this paper examines the impact of foreign presence on the productivity of domestic enterprises. We find positive and significant externalities on Italian firms, negative impact on Spanish firms, and non-significant effects on...

This paper undertakes a brief evaluation of the trends in the internationalization of innovative activities. We provide a taxonomy of R&D internationalization strategies, and discuss the main relevant theoretical and empirical issues, before discussing the centripetal and centrifugal forces underlying the nature and evolution of cross border innova...

This paper investigates empirically the importance of technological catch-up in explaining productivity growth in a sample of countries since the 1960s. New proxies for a country's absorptive capability--based on data for students studying abroad, telecommunications and publications--are tested in regression models. The results indicate that absorp...

This paper focuses on multinational companies' creation of linkages with local firms in the electronics industry. Evidence is drawn from a novel data-set, covering international operations of the top European and US electronics companies, over the period 1984--95. Econometric tests are provided to highlight how firms' multinational experience, meas...

This paper describes the sectoral patterns of foreign direct investment in France, Italy and Spain, using a novel data set on manufacturing firms for the 1993–97 period. Significant heterogeneities emerge across countries in terms of weight and distribution of foreign presence, and in terms of productivity levels of multinational firms. It is shown...