ICT, skills, organisation and labour productivity: An empirical analysis of new firm's efficiency sources in Catalonia

Using survey data on a representative sample of the productive private Catalonian network ( 1,238 firms) and in line with the international empirical evidence, this research paper analyzes the new co-innovative (ICT uses, skilled labour and new forms of work organization) productivity sources. The results have enabled us to identify a competitive pattern marked by the decisive contribution of physical productive capital. In addition, a segmentation of the business sample suggests the existence of two distinct patterns in productivity sources. In technology and knowledge intensive-firms (about one fifth of the total) the sources of productivity level is bases on physical productive capital, new work organizations systems and complementarities between then and the use of ICT. By the rest of Catalan firms (80% who do not use technology and knowledge intensive) has not found evidence to corroborate the existence of new co-innovation sources in the explanation of their long term potential growth.