Small and Medium Enterprises: Technology Policies and Options

by A. S. Bhalla (Editor), Dominick Salvatore (Editor)

Overview

In recent years, the potential role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in fostering socio-economic development has received increasing attention in the international economic community. However, no previous works have dealt with the technological capabilities of these enterprises. Here, A. S. Bhalla and a distinguished group of contributors fill this gap by presenting a sustained analysis of the technology issues and options facing small and medium enterprises in both urban and rural settings. The work is organized around three major issues: the policies and programs that affect small and medium enterprises; the innovation potential of these businesses; and the institutions and infrastructure most conducive to their success in developing and advanced economies.

Following Bhalla's introduction, Part One looks at the macro- and microeconomic policy environment necessary to stimulate the innovative capacity and potential of SMEs. The contributors show that existing policy measures are invariably geared toward large enterprises and discuss whether removal of these policy biases is enough to promote SME growth or whether more interventionist approaches are needed. Part Two focuses on the capacity of SMEs to design and manufacture equipment or products—adapting technology to suit their particular requirements. The contributors challenge the accepted views in this area, demonstrating that even microenterprises have the capacity for product and process innovations. In Part Three, the contributors examine the success of the business incubation process in fostering technological innovation, the traditional forms of support offered to SMEs in developing economies, and the linkages between SMEs and research institutions. In each section, individual chapters examine the operation of SMEs in a variety of settings in both advanced and developing countries. Must reading for policymakers and students of international economics, Small and Medium Enterprises is a catalyst for informed action in this vital segment of economic activity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313275944
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/21/1991
Series:	Contributions in Economics and Economic History , #12
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

A. S. BHALLA is Chief of the Technology and Employment Division of the International Labour Office (ILO). He has published more than 50 articles and is author or editor of six previous books including New Technologies and Development: Experiences in Technology Blending and Uneven Development in the Third World: A Study of China and India.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Sergio Trindade, Executive Director, UNCSTD
Introduction by A. S. Bhalla
Favorable Policies and Programs
Centralized versus Decentralized Policy Towards Small and Medium Enterprises by John Marcum
Technological Policies for Small and Medium Enterprises: The Canadian Experience by Paul Dufour
Technology Policy for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Netherlands by Walter Zegveld
Technological Transformation of Small and Medium Enterprises in China by Guan Ze-wen et al
Technology Promotion Programs for Small Enterprises: The Philippine Experience by Quintin G. Tan
Building Technological Capabilities
Innovations and Small Producers in Developing Countries by A. S. Bhalla
Building Indigenous Technological Capability Through Foreign Assistance to Small/Medium Enterprises by J. M. Hekland
A New Approach to Innovation in Traditional Industries: The Italian Experience by Danielle Mazzonis and Mario Pianta
Building Technological Capability of Finnish Small Industry Through Risk-financing by Veikko O. Vuorikari
Technological Transformation of Small Enterprises in Zhejiang (China) by Wu Tianzu
Technological Characteristics and Change in Small Industrial Enterprises in Guangdong (China) by G. Ze-wen et al
Management and Technological Capabilities of Malaysian Small Enterprises by Ahmad Jamil and Rahimah Said
Development of Design and Manufacturing Capabilities in a Small Nigerian Company by Sam Chukwujekwu
Institutions and Infrastructure
Nurturing Microenterprises and Technological Innovation through Business Incubation Process by Rustam Lalkaka and Hu Ping
Institutions to Promote Technological Modernization of Indian Small Enterprises by C. V. S. Ratnam
Technical and Managerial Extension Services for Korean Small and Medium Enterprises by Kyung Lee
Cooperation between Research and Educational Institutions and Small Enterprises in China by Cai Liyi
Infrastructural Requirements of Information Technology and Small and Medium Enterprises by Karl Ganzhorn
The Seminar Report
Select Bibliography
Index