Determinants of Technology Innovations in the Indigenous Textile Weaving Industry: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The study examined the factors influencing technology innovations in the indigenous small scale textile weaving firms in southwestern Nigeria. Data for the study were collected through questionnaire and unstructured interview from a purposive sample of 300 firms out of the population of 1,200 in the study area. The survey instruments include questionnaire and interview of some respondents’. The questionnaire elicited information on factors affecting innovations. The results revealed that there are internal and external factors which affect product, process and organisational innovations in the industry. Internal factors are entrepreneurial orientation and firm level resources such as formal and informal education; knowledge and skills available within the firms; technical and managerial experience; and years of experience in business. External inputs to technology innovations are customer’s preference; information disseminated through textile associations; hiring of qualified personnel and market research. Other external sources are from suppliers of machinery and equipment; attendance at seminars, training and conferences; and imitation of the innovations of other firms. The major obstacles to innovations are lack of knowledge and skills; shortage of skilled personnel in the firms; high costs of production and financial constraints; economic and market uncertainty; lack of basic infrastructure and government regulations. The study concluded that technology innovations in the firms could be more enhanced through acquisition of appropriate technical skills, training for knowledge acquisition and interaction with R&D institutions.