Mario Amendola is Professor of Economics at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza' and Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Momigliano Institute for the Culture and History of the Firm (ICSIM). He is a former Director of the Department of Economic Sciences of the University of Rome 'La Sapienza'. Jean Luc Gaffard is Professor of Economics at the University of Nice, Sophia Antipolis. He is a Member of the 'Conseil Superieur de l'Emploi, des Revenues et des Couts' and Director of the Institut de Droit et d'Economie de la Firme et de l'Industrie (IDEFI), the research unit of the CNRS