Technology and enterprise in a historical perspective

Introduction Theory and history of technology and business firms: the microeconomics of industrial development. Part 1 Technology and the firm - theory and history: the concept of the industrial revolution, Sydney Pollard science and technology in the 20th century, Nathan Rosenberg the dynamics of technological change - salients, critical problems, and industrial revolutions, Thomas P Hughes business organization and competitive advantage - capitalist transformations in the 20th-century, William Lazonick the roles of firms in technical advance - a perspective from evolutionary theory, Richard Nelson toward a theory of corporate coherence - preliminary remarks, Giovanni Dosi et al some foundations for a theory of the large innovating firm, Keith Pavitt. Part 2 Some empirical evidence - cases from the chemical industry: continuity and change in the management of industrial research - the Du Pont company, 1902-1980 R&D, imitation, and innovation at Montecatini, Pier Paolo Saviotti. Part 3 National evidence of technological accumulation and organizational change - the case of Italy: technical change. microeconomic evolution, and growth - an introductory view of Italian industrial development, Giulio Sapelli R&D growth in Italian industry in an international perspective, Franco Malerba international technology transfer - an overview with special reference to Italian firms, Giorgio Sirilli.