He holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute (Florence) and, before joining the University of Mannheim, he was a "Franco Modigliani" Research Fellow at the University of Bologna. His research interests are in industrial and financial economics, with a particular focus on innovation, vertical relationships, and financial contracting. His papers have been published in leading journals in economics and finance, like, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, and the RAND Journal of Economics.