Acquisition of Technological Capability in Small Firms in Developing Countries

by H. Romijn

Overview

An authoritative examination of how small firms in developing countries acquire technological capability - the knowledge and skills required to operate technology effectively and to adapt it to local conditions. It fills a gap in the established literature on technological capability, which has neglected the small-scale sector in spite of the important role it plays in employment generation. The author develops a methodology for a quantitative assessment of the learning process, using case material from the small-scale capital goods sector in Pakistan's Punjab Province.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780333732199
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	11/18/1998
Edition description:	1999
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

HENNY ROMIJN is Senior Research Officer at Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, and the Development Research Institute, Tilburg University, Netherlands. Her work has focused on industrialization, technological development and small enterprise development. She has worked in various small enterprise promotion projects in East Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia of the International Labour Organization. She is co-author of Small-scale Production: Strategies for Industrial Restructuring.

Table of Contents

List of Tables List of Figures and Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: CAPABILITY BUILDING IN THE EXISTING LITERATURE Technological Capability and Its Importance in Economic Development The Limits of a Focus on the Large-scale Sector Development of Technological Capability in the Small-scale Sector: A Review of Secondary Literature PART II: CAPABILITY BUILDING IN SMALL FIRMS - A QUANTITATIVE STUDY The Research Design Measuring Technological Capability and Mechanisms of Learning Technological Learning in Small Firms: A Quantitative Analysis Conclusions Appendices Notes Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

'A thorough review of the literature combined with a detailed and imaginatively done field study make this book an unusually important contribution to our understanding of the role of small scale firms in the development of national technological capability.' - Henry J. Bruton, Professor of Economics, Williams College, Massachusetts

'This is an important addition to the growing literature on technological capability. It represents one of the very few detailed empirical investigations of the nature and determinants of technological capability among small scale activities in developing countries, showing that the development of technological capability plays a significant role in this sector, as well as among the large firms which form the usual focus of such investigations.' - Frances Stewart, Director, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford

From the Publisher