Measuring SME Competitiveness in Italy's Cultural and Creative Industries: Firm-Level Evidence

Ivan Etzo () and L. Ciucci

Working Paper CRENoS from Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia

Abstract: This study investigates the competitiveness and efficiency of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) in Italy, using a comprehensive firm-level dataset from 2019 to 2023. We estimate Total Factor Productivity (TFP) to analyze firm performance, addressing endogeneity concerns through panel fixed-effects models and employing a Translog production function for flexible input elasticity. Our findings reveal significant spatial heterogeneity, with central and north-western regions exhibiting higher CCI productivity than southern areas. Furthermore, we uncover disparities related to firm size, age, and specialization within Creative versus Cultural domains. The largest and oldest CCI firms show a higher TFP. The Creative industry demonstrates greater productivity than the Cultural industry. We provide evidence that manufacturing-oriented CCI tend to exhibit lower productivity compared to service-oriented CCI. The results underscore the importance of targeted policies to address regional disparities and sectorspecific challenges within the CCI ecosystem, promoting innovation and sustainable growth.

Keywords: total factor productivity; SMEs; Italian regions; Cultural and creative industries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-cse, nep-cul, nep-eff, nep-ent, nep-eur and nep-sbm
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202514

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