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In recent years the economics of technological change has moved away from the traditional view of innovative activities as a linear process (in which innovations would originate directly from R&D efforts) and of the firm as an isolated, empty black box (with no internal capabilities and no external linkages). Rather, the most recent contributions, particularly within the evolutionary approach to technological change and industrial dynamics (Nelson and Winter, 1982), have emphasized that:

-innovative activities show many interdependencies and feedbacks and can be presented as a chain linked process (Kline and Rosenberg, 1986). During this process interactions among different variables (such as applied research, development, prototype, testing, production and marketing) may take place. In this respect, new advances in science and technology act not only at the basic or the applied research stage of the …