On 27 October 2025, the Faculty of Finance at the City University of Macau organized the sixth Academic Salon at the Golden Dragon Campus. This academic salon invited Dr. Emanuele Pugliese, researcher from the United Nation University in Maastricht (UNU-MERIT). His research paper titled “Positioning Firms along the Capabilities Ladder”.

This paper developed and applied a novel methodology for quantifying the capability development of firms, and putting these capabilities (and hence also the firms) in a hierarchy, that is referred to as their position on the capabilities ladder. The nestedness algorithm, inspired by biology and network science, defines a capability as complex if it is performed by only a few firms at the upper rungs of the ladder. After analyzing balance sheet and innovation data of almost 40,000 Indian firms for the time period 1988-2015, this paper finds significant nestedness. Lower rungs of the capabilities ladder correspond to basic managerial and production capabilities. Mid-level rungs correspond to internationalization and acquiring absorptive capacity. Higher level rungs are more related to M&A and innovation. ICT capabilities have become more fundamental lower-level rungs on the capabilities ladder in recent years. In addition, capability ranking can explain future growth patterns and survival probability of firms, summing up in one number their future potential trajectories.

In this academic salon, Dr. Emanuele Pugliese shared his latest research findings with the Faculty of Finance, broadening the academic scope of the faculty. The Faculty of Finance Academic Salon at the City University of Macau is a platform for exchanging academic ideas and enhancing academic awareness. The Salon focuses on finance, inviting experts from academia and the financial industry to discuss cutting-edge research and share industry development trends, aiming to bring new academic experiences and thinking models to the faculty and students of the university. Through academic activities like the academic salon, the Faculty of Finance provides a better academic platform for graduate students and encourage further exploration and research of academic issues among faculty and students.