An examination of the place of technology in economic models of industrial development. The first part is structured to cover the major theoretical systems systematically. The second part contains six case studies.

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.