The paper is an empirical analyze of some theoretical propositions that relate the firm capabilities and structure to its sectoral performance. The firm performance was measured by its profitability, market share, and indexes of productivity. The determinants of the firm performance were based on the main arguments of Edith Penrose, Alfred Chandler, Richard Nelson and Sidney Winter, and some propositions of Stephen Hymer and Raymond Vernon. These theoretical propositions guide the shape of the econometric models specific to each author. To test the econometric models, it was used a database with 4,498 manufacturing firms. The main results show the importance of the technological innovation, the external trade, and the economies of scale and scope as determinants of the profit asymmetries among firms of an industry.
markup; innovation; firm capabilities; market share; Brazil
