Restoring Spain to a stable growth path will mean advancing towards a new growth model that is predominantly driven by productivity gains. And this, in turn, will demand far-reaching changes in the corporate sector.

This book examines Spanish corporations and their environment from a microeconomic standpoint. The authors use database information on a representative sample of companies which are then studied from three distinct angles. The first is productivity and its relationship with the externalization of activities, service regulation and the management ability of executive teams.

The second focuses on the R&D and innovation activities of Spanish firms: the role of competition, their characterization by reference to R&D and innovation strategy, and the importance of size, among other factors. The third explores the impact of the crisis in two respects: the cyclical component of investment in intangible assets, and companies’ financial and economic performance.

This publication is the newest addition to the Ivie-Fundación BBVA research program devoted to the study of productivity as a determinant of long-term output growth. On this occasion, the focus is on developments at enterprise level rather than national or sectoral aggregates. This approach facilitates a deeper understanding of productivity drivers and sheds light on the considerable disparities existing in the corporate world. Contributors are drawn from the ranks of academic specialists in the microeconomic analysis of the topics covered.

Its rigorous analysis will provide academics, managers and economic policymakers with a clearer grasp of the bridges linking the macroeconomic situation of Spain with business decisions and the business environment