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Technological Capability

This document discusses technological and managerial capability. It defines these capabilities as stocks of human, institutional, and other resources that allow productive units to manage tasks like technology transfer and innovation. The document outlines various forms these capabilities can take, such as human skills and knowledge, organizations, policies, and innovation culture. It then disaggregates technological capability into specific areas like investment, production, and innovation capabilities. The document emphasizes that technological capability is central to successful technological development and competitive economic growth, requiring conscious effort to develop. It lists methods for building capability, such as training programs, learning by doing, apprenticeships, research, and reverse engineering.

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Deogratias Laurent
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52 views9 pages

Technological Capability

This document discusses technological and managerial capability. It defines these capabilities as stocks of human, institutional, and other resources that allow productive units to manage tasks like technology transfer and innovation. The document outlines various forms these capabilities can take, such as human skills and knowledge, organizations, policies, and innovation culture. It then disaggregates technological capability into specific areas like investment, production, and innovation capabilities. The document emphasizes that technological capability is central to successful technological development and competitive economic growth, requiring conscious effort to develop. It lists methods for building capability, such as training programs, learning by doing, apprenticeships, research, and reverse engineering.

Uploaded by

Deogratias Laurent
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TECHNOLOGICAL AND

MANAGERIAL CAPABILITY
 What is Technological and Managerial Capability;
 Forms of Tech and Managerial Capabilities;
Disaggregation of Tech and Manag Capabilities;
Centrality of TC for Successful Tech Development
and Competitive Economic Development;
Methods for Building T and M Capabilities.
What is Technological and Managerial
Capability
Technological and Managerial Capability is a stock of resources
(human, institutional etc) located within and around a
productive unit within an economy/society/country/ regional
grouping and/or some larger grouping. These resource take
various forms - eg human skills, expertise and experiences;
institutions, organizations etc.

The main function of these resources is to define and execute


given tasks. More precisely TC and Managerial Capability is
engaged in, for example: Managing Technology Transfer
Process, Managing Innovation, Designing and implementing
STI Policies etc.
Forms of Tech and Managerial Capabilities.
1. Human Resource.
Knowledge, understanding, insights, skills, expertise, experiences of a
technical, engineering, economic, managerial, social etc nature relevant
and required for technological development.

2. Organizations and Institutions.


A set of organizations and institutions within which a number of
technological, technical, economic and managerial tasks and functions
relevant for technological development are defined and executed. Such
organizations and institutions include – R&D departments; trouble -
shooting departments, consulting organizations, design institutions.
And so forth.
Forms of Techn and Manag Capability - CONTINUED
3. STI Policies, Plans, Programs, Strategies etc
Elements of STI and broader policies, plans, programs, strategies etc
needed and required for fostering technological development – eg
those elements and instruments needed for fostering efficient
management of ITT, Innovation management, technological capability
development etc constitute veritable forms of Tech and Managerial
Capability.

4. Innovation Culture
Elements of an organization behavioral routines and ways of doing
things (organization culture) that support and foster innovation
within the organization. Such behavioral elements include – team
building and working, respecting other peoples ideas, building on the
ideas of others, attentive listening, staying focused etc are unique
capabilities.
Disaggregation of Technological and Managerial Capability.
1. INVESTMENT CAPABILITIES
i. Project Management Capability – ability to organize and oversee
project establishment and expansion;
ii. Project Engineering Capability – ability to provide and synthesize
information and make technology operational within a particular
context;
iii. Procurement Capability – the ability to choose, organize, co ordinate
and supervise hardware, software suppliers and civil construction
contractors;
iv. Capabilities for embodying technology in physical capital - abilities
for construction, plant erection, machinery and equipment manufacture
etc.
v. Start up capabilities - abilities for staff training, achieving start up
efficiency levels etc.
Disaggregation of Technological and
Managerial Capability – CONTINUED.
2. PRODUCTION CAPABILITY
i. Production Management Capability – the ability to oversee and
improve on the operation of established establishments.
ii. Production Engineering Capability – the ability to obtain, synthesize
and act on information and data in order to optimize operations.
3. INNOVATION CAPABILITY
The ability for capturing new ideas, opportunities etc ;and
subsequently carrying out technical possibilities through to
economic and commercial practice. These involve the abilities for
searching ideas and opportunities; evaluating same to allow for
committing, realizing the innovation and optimizing benefits from
the innovation.
CENTRALITY OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY
Technological and Managerial Capability:

i.Lies at the heart of successful technological development and hence dynamic and
competitive industrial and economic development;

ii It is through ‘mastery’ of the technical basis of production that much of the


increases in production efficiency and productivity – and hence competitiveness of
productive units arises. On this very point Pack and Westphal (1996:106) note:

‘……industrial development is a process of acquiring technological


capability in the course of continual technological change’

Likewise, Sanjaya Lall (1987:230) notes:

‘The efficient development of industry requires a broad range of


technological capabilities’
iii. The process of technological capability accumulation requires investment,
effort and allocation of resources. Dahlman, Ross – Larson and Westphal
(1987:759) underscore this point:

‘ Acquisition of technological Capability does not come merely from


experience – though experience is important. It comes from conscious
efforts – to monitor what is being done, to try new things, to keep track of
developments throughout the world, to accumulate added skills and to
increase the ability to respond to new pressures and opportunities’.

The authors (766) further note:

‘The acquisition of innovation capability - like the act of innovation -


comes from explicit allocations of money and people to solve
technological problems’

Thus the process of developing technological capability is far from being


automatic, effortless and costless as once believed ( K Arrow, 1962)
Methods for Building Technological Capability
1. Formalised and focused Training Programs;
2. Learning -by - doing programs and schemes;
3. Technological apprenticeship programs and schemes;
4. Learning by research;
5. Reverse engineering programs and schemes.

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