Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the joint effect of persistency in innovation and export on firms’ total factor productivity. In particular, the aim is to determine if exporting in international markets along subsequent periods, and being also continuously innovating over the same periods, can be associated with increases in firms’ productivity. The underlying idea is that time recurrence of these strategies is related to the firms’ ability to optimize external knowledge flows enhancing their productivity. Design/methodology/approach: By using data on Italian manufacturing firms over the period 1998–2006, the authors distinguish between repeated and temporary exporting firms, as well as repeated and temporary innovators, to test (through two-step system generalized methods of moments) the existence of any combined learning-by-exporting and learning-by-doing effects. Findings: This paper provides empirical findings about persistent innovation efforts being better associated with a permanent presence in foreign markets. More in detail, persistently innovative and exporting firms have better productivity results than persistently exporting (innovating) firms with non-persistent innovation (export). Combining both strategies could be an opportunity to internalize knowledge flows coming from long-lasting exposure to foreign markets. These results hold especially for small firms. Originality/value: The novelty of this paper is twofold. First, the authors argue that the temporal dimension of firms’ exporting and innovating activities may influence firms’ productivity. Second, while previous studies explored the role of export and innovation on productivity in isolation, the authors consider the joint effect of this relationship and also explore it across the temporal dimension finding evidence that they have a positive, reinforced effects if firms implement these activities continuously and jointly. In this case, the effect of innovation and export on productivity is significantly higher than if firms with intermittent strategies do not have the time to internalize knowledge flows coming from participating in export market.

Economic shocks are often difficult to predict, as they are independent of the will of the economic agents affected and, therefore, exogenous to their choices. However, the effects of such shocks when they occur impact on national economies, business performance, and employment of individuals, thus shaking countries’ economies, and often with long-lasting effects. Although it is difficult to predict their occurrence, it is possible to withstand the consequences of exogenous shocks and be more resilient should they occur. Investing in order to be at the frontier of innovation is one of the tools that economies can adopt to protect their agents, thus defending them from the downturns that can result from unexpected economic events. In this paper, we study whether being more innovative does protect Italian provinces from the negative effects of exogenous shocks, with a focus on employment levels. The object of the analysis is, more specifically, the role of the innovation stock in protecting provinces’ employment levels from trade and economic shocks. The analysis, conducted in the period 2000–2018, examines the effect of trade shock on Italian provinces’ employment levels, and the role of the innovation stock in preserving those levels. Our results confirm that innovative provinces are more protected from external trade and economic shocks, with this effect being evident in both Southern and Northern regions, and despite the level of internationalization of provinces.