International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 2, Issue 1, 2003

Multinational corporations (MNCs) can be an important source of environmentally friendly technologies for developing countries since their affiliates are often more advanced than local firms in the adoption of modern environmental technologies and management practices. This does not mean, however, that MNC affiliates in developing countries invariably employ the same standards, technologies and management approaches adopted by their parent companies or by affiliates operating in developed countries. The contribution of MNC affiliates to sustainable development depends on the quality of their operation and the characteristics of the host countries where they operate. The former is conditioned by such factors as the nature of the sectors where MNCs direct their investments, the kind of assets brought by MNCs, and the role played by the affiliates within the MNC global network. The latter is mainly about the availability of skills, the state of domestic technological infrastructure, the competitiveness of local suppliers, the nature of national environmental regulations and the extent to which these regulations are enforced. The paper notes the need for more robust empirical studies on the environmental role of MNCs to guide policy aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of foreign direct investment (FDI) initiatives in promoting sustainable development.

There is widespread recognition that firms need continuous upgrading of their operations and capabilities to be able to retain a competitive edge in a highly uncertain market environment. This raises questions about the mechanisms available for them to learn and develop capability. One area of topical enquiry is that of inter-firm learning. For individual firms, the advantages of learning in a network context include access to the experiences of others and peer-group support, reduction of risks in R-and-D experimentation, and the potential for creativity and innovation arising as a response to competitive challenges. Examples of such network configurations can be found in regional clusters, sector groupings, heterogeneous groups sharing a common topic of interest, user groups concerned with learning around a particular technology or its application and in supplychain learning. Learning in such configurations does not, however, take place automatically. This paper addresses some of the management challenges involved in setting up and nurturing learning networks. It draws particularly on a case of a learning network in the timber products industry in South Africa.

The underlying features of agricultural and natural resource research and technology systems operating in low-income countries have changed over the last couple of decades. New actors have emerged in the form of non-governmental and community-based organisations and private-sector agro-entrepreneurs to take part in agricultural technology development and promotion - an area of activity which was generally the preserve of public institutions. This has resulted in the development of alternative institutional models for participatory technology development that involve new types of linkages between actors. The shift of paradigm in the conceptualisation of agricultural and natural resource innovation systems has been occasioned by, amongst other things, changes in partner/client relationships and funding sources and mechanisms for science and technology systems at local, national and international levels. Set against this background, the paper explores issues that the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) would need to consider while drawing up and developing new strategies for participatory technology development in Nepal.

Les méthodes mises en œuvre par notre équipe lors de nos interventions en accompagnement des projets de changement en entreprises ou organisations sont essentielles pour entreprendre de tels chantiers. Le contexte doit cependant être compris comme un collectif humain, et donc faire la place à toute l’approche ‘soft’, psycho-sociologique et cognitive, qui caractérise au niveau intime les dynamiques collectives. Cette identification théorique de la nature et de la dynamique des liens entre individus et groupes, notamment sur le plan cognitif, implique des caractéristiques et des modalités de mise en œuvre de ces démarches d’amélioration. Notre position est que la formation action est particulièrement bien adaptée à cet objectif, à condition de la mettre en œuvre comme un projet, d’une façon qui respecte les individus et qui leur ménage un espace de ‘micro-socialisation’ et de réalisation personnelle et collective. Sous un certain nombre de conditions, certes difficiles à mettre en œuvre, nous proposons d’examiner si nos savoir-faire sont transférables aux environnements cubains et sud américains.

World Development Report 2003: Sustainable Development in a Dynamic World – Transforming Institutions, Growth, and Quality of Life, The World Bank, (2003) New York: Oxford University Press, xxi + 250 pp., ISBN 0-8213-5150-8, £16.50

Greening the Corporation: Management Strategy and the Environmental Challenge, Peter T. Robbins (2001) London: Earthscan Publications, 190 pp. (incl. 34 pp. of endnotes and 15 pp. of references), ISBN 1-85383-772-5 (paperback), £17.95; ISBN 1-85383-771-7 (hardback), £47.50