The Rise of the Italian Space Industry: Entrepreneurial State and Demand-Driven Innovation Policy

Despite the Italian system of production is well - known to be specialized in traditional sectors, characterized by small enterprises and very few investments in R&D and human capital, Finmeccanica - an Italian aerospace company - is a relevant player in the global high - tech market. The aerospace holding group was es tablished by the State in its entrepreneurial effort to substitute the lack of high - tech ventures through State - holdings. However, only the aerospace and defense holding survived to the privatization program in the first Nineties. This research argues that a new strategy of innovation policy was able to sustain the high - tech effort of the Italian system of innovation. Subsequent to the establishment of the Italian Space Agency in 1988, the Governme nt adopted public procurement as a tool for sustaining innov ative activities driven by public demand. Moreover, that model underlines the potential role of forward public procurement (FPP) in providing the market with advance information of future needs. Since FPP is considered a powerful tool in the perspective of many policy - makers, in particular in post - crisis Europe, the aim of this research is to enlarge the knowledge about policy of innovation driven by public procurement.