Technological Capability Building Research Articles

How a timely policy contributes to technological capability building: insights from Iran’s biopharmaceutical sector

Abstract Building technological capabilities is influenced by different factors, notably policies. This paper explains the co-evolution of policies, i.e. policy tools, on the technological capabilities in Iran’s biopharmaceutical sector from 1995 to 2022. By adopting a qualitative research method, we gathered primary data through thirty-nine semi-structured as well as secondary data from reports and statistics. This paper explains technological capabilities enhancement from operational capabilities to innovative capabilities based on our proposed framework, which includes six levels. While the lack of an efficient policy tools, until the mid-2000s, was decisive in the inertia of biopharmaceutical sector capabilities, a proactive policy tools in recent years led to considerable promising results in terms of manufacturing and exporting advanced biosimilar products. Our findings shed light on the role of government support in the acceleration and directionality of technological capabilities building. Achieving advanced levels of technological capabilities requires learning, international collaboration, and export-oriented policies.

천연생물자원을 활용한 국제적정기술 사업화 모델개발

This study aims to develop a model for international development cooperation in the bio sector through the development of commercialization model using natural biological resources in developing countries. To this end, this study analyzed the theoretical background of international appropriate technology using natural biological resources through the 'Ser-M' model, as well as conducted a case study. Through the analysis, this paper developed and presented a commercialization model for the appropriate technology of added value provision utilizing natural biological resources. The case study is based upon the “Appropriate Technology Dissemination and Capability Building Project of the Philippines”, which was carried out by the KOICA and KIPA from 2014 to 2016. Based on the theoretical background and case study results, implications and directions were drawn for the development of commercialization model for international appropriate technology utilizing natural biological resources covering relevant subject, environments, resources, and mechanism. The direction of commercialization model development was established through the commercialized process reflecting natural biological resources based on the value chain, the IDC model through the division of the value chain, and the commercialization model targeting global markets. Based on the directions above, the commercializing process was established according to the value chain, the division system was derived accordingly, and the business model canvas(BMC) was derived through the 9 major business elements that should be included whitin the commercialization. By synthesizing the above studies, the commercialization model and the division of labor between developing and developed countries were presented finally. The suggested commercialization model will furnish a win-win opportunity for both developing and developed countries through the international appropriate technology as a mediator. Developing countries are likely to have the opportunity to develop new industries and export products through developing their natural biological resources, as well as building-up capabilities and creating job opportunities for utilizing biological resources. In addition, developed countries may develop various sorts of biological resources overseas and implement the global responsibility through supporting capability enforcement, technology and knowledge transfer to developing countries. The commercialization model of international appropriate technology utilizing natural biological resources is expected to become a new IDC model in the bio sector realizing the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the sharing of benefits. The importance of this study is to suggest an appropriate technology model for Sustainability Transition Innovation integrating social and economic values and to present a new IDC model for the development and diffusion of appropriate technology in the bio sector.

India's Space Economy, 2011–12 to 2020–21: Its Size and Structure

India is one of the few developing countries with a growing technological capability in the space industry. This capability manifests itself in designing, manufacturing and launching satellites of various sizes and sophistication. The state has played a significant role in evolving and nurturing this technological capability, as the space sector has received considerable public investment. The space economy has grown and can be essential to the country's high-tech manufacturing and services sectors. A necessary feature of this technological capability building is entirely built through indigenous research and development by the Indian Space Research Organisation. Employing an eclectic framework, the paper maps out the size and structure of India's space sector and analyses the state's role in shaping it. It also provides us with some estimates of the productivity of those public investments in creating a space economy.

The influence of Industry 4.0 narratives on regional path development

ABSTRACT Industry 4.0 has become a key concept and buzzword in the global manufacturing industry. This paper argues that the concept has created an Industry 4.0 narrative that is having a decisive impact on the industry. The paper combines the literatures on the sociology of expectations and regional path development to develop an analytical framework which is employed in an analysis of the Raufoss region in Norway. We find that the expectations created by the global Industry 4.0 narrative have trickled down into national industry and innovation policies. This has resulted in the anchoring of innovation schemes, development of new educational provisions and generated technological capability building among manufacturers in the Raufoss region. In turn, we argue that these actions have enabled regional path extension.

A Comparative Study of Sustainable Transition from Catch-up to Post Catch-up of South Korea and China

The essence of the experience of East Asia has been on technological capability building and dynamic industrial transitions from one stage to the next. While many studies for understanding the catch-up process and post catch-up agendas exist, empirical and comparative studies that consider the transition from catch-up to post catch-up are still rare. The significance of this research can be summarized in two ways. First, this study verifies the conformity of existing major catch-up to post catch-up transition studies with quantitative evidence. Second, by comparing commonalities and patterns from South Korea and China, this study examines the generality of the discourses and arguments about the transition from catch-up to post catch-up. The reflexive study of understanding transition from catch-up to post catch-up was conducted with a technology cycle time (TCT), self-citation ratio at a country level, and the basic research expenditure of Korea and China by using the US Patents and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) patent citation (for technology cycle time & self-citation ratio) and OECD’s database (basic research expenditure and gross domestic expenditure on basic research) for time period from 1998 to 2012. Empirical evidence of technology cycle time, self-citation ratio and gross domestic expenditure on basic research matched well with the prior transition arguments. First, Korea’s case shows a post catch-up trend with an increasing technology cycle time while China’s case presents catch-up trend (short-cycle period) and shifts to post catch-up trend (post catch-up trend). Self-citation ratios for both countries show increasing and converging pattern. In terms of basic research activities, both countries show increasing pattern. Korea exceeded the gross domestic expenditure on basic research of Japan and the US. Even though, China’s gross domestic expenditure on basic research has been tripled from 1998 to 2012, China’s gross domestic expenditure on basic research has still a long way to go to close the gap and to show a converging pattern. Many developing countries that once experienced a certain level of successful catch-up did not overcome the middle income trap have fallen behind. Understanding transition process of catch-up to post catch-up discussed in this paper may present a better understanding of long-term sequential development and economic sustainability of developing countries.

Factors Influencing Technological Capability Building in the Nigerian Solar Energy Industry

Technological capability study has continued to gain ground as recognisable progress is being made in the resource-based view (RBV) theory. As a matter of fact, it has become more relevant in the context of a developing nation, such as Nigeria, as a means to create economic development. Using the Panda and Ramanathan methodology for measuring technological capability (TC) in the electric sector, this paper adopted the indicators from the paper to investigate the effects of factors affecting TC on the Nigerian solar energy firms’ TCs. The results of seemingly unrelated regressions showed that both internal and external factors significantly affect technological capability in the solar energy industry in different directions, but similar directions to organizational capability of the solar energy firms’ in Nigeria.

Technological capability building in Iranian biosimilar industry

The development of technological capability plays a strategic role in industrialisation and catchup in developing countries. However, the emergence of new technologies, coupled with industries' ever-shifting business models, has affected the processes and factors critical to the formation of technological capability. In this context, the present study seeks to investigate the pattern of technological capability building in the Iranian firms to the emergence of the biosimilar sector in the pharmaceutical market. Drawing on a case study strategy, the findings reveal that the path of capability evolution in Iranian firms is shaped by a gradual movement towards acquiring biosimilar capabilities. This paper also shows that firms relying on a combination of indigenous research and development as well as technological collaborations make most progress in the capability building. Furthermore, scientific collaborations with research institutes, hiring experts in biotechnology and organisational capability development are key strategies contributing to the accumulation of technological capabilities in Iranian biosimilar firms.

Technological capability building in Iranian biosimilar industry

Technological capability building in Iranian biosimilar industry

Imperatives of Sustainable University Excellence: A Conceptual Framework

This study envisions the architecture of a modern era university with sustainable standards of excellence. Sustainable University Excellence is herein defined as the ability of a university to excel in the core areas of knowledge creation and dissemination via the mobilization of human, social, intellectual, and financial capital to serve on socioeconomic and environmental fronts ethically, efficiently, and effectively to secure a sustainable future. Seven core performance domains of a university are explored: Teaching quality, research culture, technological capability building, accessibility, community engagement, internationalization, and environment, which should be prioritize in order to continuously advance along a sustainable excellence continuum. This study provides a self-assessment methodology that universities can employ to compare their performance relative to the aforementioned domains, thus enabling the identification of performance gaps, the knowledge of which is crucial to the formulation of more targeted strategy. This approach allows decision makers to form a more coherent vision for sustainability within institutional and broader contexts. The approach proposed herein incorporates the three aspects of sustainability that form the so-called Triple Bottom Line (TBL).

Multi-level drivers of catching up in complex product systems: an Iranian gas turbine producer

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the pattern of technological capability building in the gas turbine industry as a complex product system (CoPS) in an Iranian gas turbine producer named Oil Turbo Compressor Company (OTC) and to recognize multi-level (firm, industry and national) drivers influencing technological catching up in this company.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a qualitative approach and case study research strategy. A preliminary theoretical framework is proposed based on research background. Also, the data were collected from various sources, including the interview with 11 experts, studying many documents and participating in some relevant meetings and conventions. To analyze the data, the authors relied on their preliminary theoretical framework and applied the chronological sequence analysis technique.FindingsOur findings show that, first, in contrast with mass-produced industries where capability building pattern often leads to product innovation, technological capabilities in OTC have evolved from assembling to manufacturing, upgrading and finally redesigning of existing models of gas turbines. Second, two firm-level (proper technology acquisition strategies and building organizational and managerial capabilities), two industry-level (networking, integration and collaboration among key actors and existence of local market and demand) and two national-level (government’s policies, supports and initiatives and institutional arrangement and political conditions) drivers have played indispensable roles in facilitating and accelerating technological catching up by OTC.Research limitations/implicationsInevitably, the current research faces a few limitations. For instance, the difficulty of generalization is considered an inherent problem because it is a case study of only one Iranian latecomer company, as well as only one CoPS industry. Regarding implications, the findings suggest that technological catching up in CoPS industries in developing countries is not a simple and autonomous process and is influenced by multi-level factors, including national-, industry- and firm-level drivers.Originality/valueIn terms of theory, this paper tends to investigate and explain the catching-up process in OTC as an Iranian gas turbine producer by applying a multi-level theoretical framework that consists of firm-, industry- and national-level drivers. In terms of practice, this paper aims at investigating drivers affecting the catching-up process in a CoPS industry in a developing country that was faced with vast international sanctions, while many other studies in this area examined cases from developing countries such as Korea and China that had the opportunity of enjoying international collaborations and overseas knowledge flows.

Geographically Dispersed Technological Capability Building and MNC Innovative Performance: The Role of Intra-firm Flows of Newly Absorbed Knowledge

Abstract This study identifies key mechanisms linking multinationality with the knowledge advantages of multinational corporations (MNCs). These mechanisms are the absorption of new knowledge by one individual MNC unit and the subsequent flows of such newly absorbed knowledge to other geographically distant units of the same firm. The intra-MNC and inter-unit flows of such newly absorbed knowledge include exchanges between a parent and its overseas subsidiaries and those between subsidiaries. Through analyzing the U.S. patent data of the world's largest firms in the electrical equipment industry, our study shows that those two mechanisms are complementary in affecting MNC innovative performance. More notably, given the geographically dispersed new knowledge absorption within an MNC, only the flows of the newly absorbed knowledge between the parent and subsidiaries, in contrast to those between subsidiaries, are positively associated with MNC innovative performance. This study contributes to the MNC literature. Managerial implications are also discussed.

Strategies, Struggles, and Sites of Transformation in Korean Political Economy

Strategies, Struggles, and Sites of Transformation in Korean Political Economy

The co-evolution of learning mechanisms and technological capabilities: Lessons from energy technologies in emerging economies

Despite a voluminous literature on firm-level technological capability building in developing countries, there is still limited knowledge about the relative importance of different learning mechanisms as firms deepen their technological capabilities. To address this knowledge gap, this paper investigates the sources of learning used by firms in the Malaysian biomass boiler industry and the Chinese wind turbine industry enabling them to advance from production capabilities to innovative capabilities. The paper presents a framework that distinguishes between sources of learning to the firm that are: internal, local and global in nature. The paper finds that the learning mechanisms shifts in a co-evolutionary pattern within and across these categories as firms develop increasingly higher levels of technological capabilities. The main contribution of the paper lies in the development and exploratory empirical application of a framework, which allow more systematic assessments of the relative importance of various types of learning sources as latecomer firms develop higher levels of technological capabilities.

Post-M&A technological capability-building of emerging market firms in China: the case of Lenovo

ABSTRACT Technological acquisitions have become a strong motivation for cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities by firms in emerging countries. However, whether these companies achieve their objectives remains an open question. This article presents a case study of Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC division with a focus on inventor productivity after acquisition. Our case study suggests that while a ‘light-touch’ integration approach helped avoid the all-too-common post-M&A productivity drop, intra-firm knowledge transfers to veteran inventors of the acquirers remained difficult due to the knowledge gap. However, M&A events create other opportunities to improve the technological capability of the acquiring company by sourcing new talent globally, offering unignorable merit that justifies outbound M&A activities by emerging market firms.

Factors impacting firm failure and technological development: A study of three emerging-economy firms

Several studies examine the successful globalization and technological development of emerging-economy firms. However, few discuss why some other emerging-economy firms do not develop sufficient technological capabilities, and thus, fail in domestics and global markets. Consequently, the understanding of emerging-economy firm diversity is limited. By analyzing the failure of three firms in two major industries in Turkey, this study identifies a complex set of factors contributing to this outcome. These factors include political risk, macroeconomic regime, national technology policies, and industry dynamics, as well as firm-related factors such as ownership, strategic intent, and the approach to, and current stage of, technology capability development. The results indicate that some of these factors support firm success in the short term but discourage learning and technological capability building, and thus, cause firm failures in the long term. Thus, the study illustrates the importance of studying emerging-economy firms from an extended contextual and temporal perspective.

Towards an agenda for measuring innovation in emerging African economies: what can we learn from the case of South Africa?

Scholars have warned of the risks for designing relevant and effective policy instruments in emerging economies, based on indicators that do not measure the full complexity of innovation and technological upgrading in heterogenous contexts. There is growing consensus around the need to better align what is measured, with what should be measured. The paper reflects conceptually, using the case of South Africa, a middle-income country to propose a high-level framework, as a contribution to inform the adaptation of existing, and the creation of new complementary measures in low- and middle-income African contexts. Such a measurement approach should be based on broader models of innovation that emphasise the systemic and dynamic nature of innovation; that are oriented not only to firms and the formal sector, but also to other economic and social actors in informal settings; that encompass multiple dimensions of technology upgrading; and that focus on technological capability building, particularly at the local level.

Towards an agenda for measuring innovation in emerging African economies: what can we learn from the case of South Africa?

Scholars have warned of the risks for designing relevant and effective policy instruments in emerging economies, based on indicators that do not measure the full complexity of innovation and technological upgrading in heterogenous contexts. There is growing consensus around the need to better align what is measured, with what should be measured. The paper reflects conceptually, using the case of South Africa, a middle-income country to propose a high-level framework, as a contribution to inform the adaptation of existing, and the creation of new complementary measures in low- and middle-income African contexts. Such a measurement approach should be based on broader models of innovation that emphasise the systemic and dynamic nature of innovation; that are oriented not only to firms and the formal sector, but also to other economic and social actors in informal settings; that encompass multiple dimensions of technology upgrading; and that focus on technological capability building, particularly at the local level.

A evolução institucional das indústrias farmacêuticas indiana e brasileira revisitada

Apesar das semelhanças de Índia e Brasil no uso de instrumentos de política industrial para desenvolver a indústria farmacêutica ao longo do século XX, houve diferenças fundamentais nas estratégias públicas e privadas que resultaram em níveis divergentes de capacitação tecnológica. O estudo histórico-comparativo apresentado neste trabalho procura elucidar essas diferenças estratégicas, que são observáveis antes e depois da abertura comercial dos anos 1990. Enquanto a Índia adotou uma política nacionalista de absorção de tecnologia externa e desenvolvimento tecnológico interno, o Brasil adotou uma política de transferência de tecnologia das empresas estrangeiras, o que criou barreiras substanciais à capacitação tecnológica das empresas nacionais.

The Influence of Information Technology Capability on Virtual Integrated Network Capability of Shipbuilding Industry Chain

To enhance the competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry chain and give full play to the role of information technology capability on the virtual integrated network capability of shipbuilding industry chain, and study on the influence of information technology capability on the virtual integrated network capability of shipbuilding industry chain, this paper chose a number of Shipbuilding Groups and related enterprises as research object and distributed questionnaires to them, then built hypothesis by using qualitative research and using structural equation model (SEM) to give quantitative data to test the hypothesis. The results show that information technology resources (ITR) have a direct effect on the virtual integrated network capacity; information technology capability building (ITCB) has no obvious effect on network adjustment capability (NAdC) of virtual integrated network capacity, but has significant positive effects on other dimensions. And based on these results, we described in detail on how to improve the virtual integrated network capability of shipbuilding industry chain.

Human resource management and co-ordination for innovation activities – cases from India's automotive industry

ABSTRACTThe study undertakes the following three analytical issues in the process of technological capability building in firms in an industrialising country. First, it identifies the major innovative activity or learning events in the longitudinal history of a form in a technologically intensive industry. Second, it identifies the human resource requirement, which is required for achieving those learning events or innovations. Third, it maps out the internal and external human resource development strategies employed by the firms. The three issues are analysed in the context of three leading domestic firms in India’s automotive industry. The ensuing analysis shows some remarkable parallels in the internal and external strategies adopted by the three firms. The most dominant internal strategy is in-house training of scientists and engineers to do in-house R&D and the most dominant external strategy is the acquisition of technologically intensive foreign firms which possess a key technology which the original firm lacks and then effecting knowledge flows from the acquired foreign firm to the original domestic firm.