The Role of Professionals In Small Italian Software Firms

This article illustrates the outcomes of research carried out on a sample of small Italian software firms. The role of the entrepreneur and the relationships between the firm and professionals are crucial to sustain these firms' innovative capabilities. Professional skills, job satisfaction, autonomy, and personal knowledge are the most important sources of the software firms' performance. On the basis of the field data, a dynamic model for small innovative firms is presented to illustrate the behavior of the firms in sustaining their innovative capabilities