Fostering Technology Absorption in Southern African Enterprises
This book seeks to understand how firms in southern Africa absorb technology and how policy makers can hurry the process along. It identifies channels of technology transfer and absorption through trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) and constraints to greater technology absorption, and it discusses policy options open to the government and the private sector in light of relevant international experience. The book is based on case studies of sectors and enterprises selected in four countries: Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, and South Africa. The relationship between technology absorption and catch-up growth is particularly relevant to southern Africa because those countries are facing tremendous competitiveness challenges and must rely on greater technology absorption to raise productivity and strengthen competitiveness to gain ground in the global market. An increased market share can then generate faster growth and create more jobs. Therefore, catch-up growth sustained by technological progress and productivity growth is the fundamental solution to unemployment and poverty alleviation. Southern African firms use multiple channels for technology absorption. For example, South African auto component firms entered technology agreements with global players to meet the demanding product standards required for export. Even after the global crisis in 2009, those who licensed technologies still spent 2.23 percent of their sales revenue on royalties. In Namibia, the meat-processing industry has made continuous efforts to upgrade technology, including the recent investment in radio frequency identification technology to trace cattle. In fish processing, companies use state-of-the-art production technologies, including electronic software to record and monitor production processes, intelligent portioning equipment, and sophisticated freezer systems. In the breweries sector, state-of-the-art technology is used at every stage of production and in the marketing and distribution processes.
| Summary: | This book seeks to understand how firms
in southern Africa absorb technology and how policy makers
can hurry the process along. It identifies channels of
technology transfer and absorption through trade and foreign
direct investment (FDI) and constraints to greater
technology absorption, and it discusses policy options open
to the government and the private sector in light of
relevant international experience. The book is based on case
studies of sectors and enterprises selected in four
countries: Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, and South Africa.
The relationship between technology absorption and catch-up
growth is particularly relevant to southern Africa because
those countries are facing tremendous competitiveness
challenges and must rely on greater technology absorption to
raise productivity and strengthen competitiveness to gain
ground in the global market. An increased market share can
then generate faster growth and create more jobs. Therefore,
catch-up growth sustained by technological progress and
productivity growth is the fundamental solution to
unemployment and poverty alleviation. Southern African firms
use multiple channels for technology absorption. For
example, South African auto component firms entered
technology agreements with global players to meet the
demanding product standards required for export. Even after
the global crisis in 2009, those who licensed technologies
still spent 2.23 percent of their sales revenue on
royalties. In Namibia, the meat-processing industry has made
continuous efforts to upgrade technology, including the
recent investment in radio frequency identification
technology to trace cattle. In fish processing, companies
use state-of-the-art production technologies, including
electronic software to record and monitor production
processes, intelligent portioning equipment, and
sophisticated freezer systems. In the breweries sector,
state-of-the-art technology is used at every stage of
production and in the marketing and distribution processes. |
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