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Gillian M. Marcelle explores some of the key messages to emerge from a study of the relative success of telecommunications companies in various countries in Africa.
Conclusion
In summary, success for technological companies depends on five critical factors:
- allocating financial resources to technological learning;
- fostering management practices that support technological learning;
- developing an organizational culture that achieves the same objective;
- accessing external technological capabilities from suppliers;
- and accessing the local and global innovation system.
Achieving these requires firms to invest time, effort and scarce management talent. Furthermore there is no trade-off between the internal elements and the external elements of this strategy.
At the same time, however, the study also confirmed that none of the five factors above are sufficient on their own to guarantee economic success. Technological learning only yields maximum benefit when it is managed as a balanced, systematic, coherent and integrated effort.
Gillian Marcelle is principal consultant, Technology for Development (TfDev), South Africa, and a visiting fellow at the University of Sussex, SPRU. She is the author of ‘Technological Learning: A Strategic Imperative for Developing Country Firms’. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2004.
References:
[1] Marcelle, G. M. (2004). Technological Learning: A Strategic Imperative for Developing Country Firms. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.