Does technological learning pay off? Inter-firm differences in technological capability-accumulation paths and operational performance improvement

Resumo

This paper focuses on the practical implications of technological capability-accumulation paths for inter-firm differences in operational performance improvement in the late-industrialising context. This relationship is examined over the lifetime of two large steel firms in Brazil: USIMINAS (1956-1997) and CSN (1938-1997). The study has found that the technological capability-accumulation paths followed by the two case-study companies were diverse and have each proceeded at differing ways and rates over time across different technological functions. The different ways and rates at which the two companies have improved their key operational performance indicators were strongly associated with their technological capability-accumulations paths. This paper suggests that the rate of operational performance improvement can be accelerated if deliberate and effective efforts to accumulate and sustain capabilities for different technological functions-through the underlying learning processes-are made within the firm. This paper also suggests that these efforts are likely to generate financial benefits for the firm. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Artigo científico

Ano

2002

Instituição

Elsevier

Fonte

Repositório da FGV

Idioma

Inglês

Acesso

Acesso restrito

DOI

10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00106-8

Identificador

oai:repositorio.fgv.br:10438/25310

Temas

Dados

Palavras-chave

Late-industrialising firmLatecomer company literatureOperational performance improvementTechnological capability - Accumulation pathsTechnological frontier company literatureTechnological learningInovações tecnológicas