Creativity, Innovation and Regional Development

My work in this field explores the role of human capital and creativity on Regional Development and Innovation. Specific aspects of interest are: drivers of human capital agglomerations, geographical distribution of economic and innovative activities.
Among recent works, a study that analyzes the impact of creative occupations on European competitive dynamics and defines the Euro-Creativity Index for European Countries ("Europe in the Creative Age"), a comparative study of Italian cities ("Italy in the Creative Age") and an analysis of Swedish cities and regions ("Sweden in the Creative Age"), conducted in collaboration with the Handels School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. This line of work has been conducted with professor Richard Florida.

Talent Attraction and Urban Development

What kind of place-features are able to attract Talent to a given location? Talent attraction is a major topic for both regional and urban development on one hand and firms' strategy on the other. Existing literature has explored several economic drivers of talent development in specific places, but we still know very little about non-market driven mechanisms that may attract and retain talent to certain locations. My research in this field addresses the deeper relationship between individuals (with a focus on higly skilled and creative individuals) and the city/place where they live. A recent paper resulted from this research is titled: "The Urban Experience Revisited: A model of City satisfaction"; in this work I explore the social and psychological mechanisms that lead to city satisfaction, attachment, and engagement. This line of research is conducted in collaboration with professor Denise Rousseau.

Technology and Innovation Management

My main interest in this field of research is the management of innovation and R&D productivity in high tech industries and, in particular, in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
The research conducted so far focuses on the managerial choices that take place in the various stages of product development. In particular, it looks at the choice to "fail" or terminate less promosing projects early in the development process. Selection and failure decisions are important aspects of resources allocation processes, and have critical impact on the effectiveness and productivity of R&D. This research resulted in a working paper titled "Success and failures: an analysis of R&D productivity in the Pharmaceutical industry". My studies and work in this area are conducted under the supervision of professor Ashish Arora.