International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development - Volume 3, Issue 3, 2004

It is an honour to edit this special issue on ‘Globalization and Technology Development’, the publication of which is an outcome of the 2003 DSA (Development Studies Association) Annual Conference held in Glasgow at the University of Strathclyde, itself a source of pioneering studies on technology and development. This recent conference coincided with the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first assembly of the DSA, held at Strathclyde, for which the David Livingstone Institute of Overseas Development Studies, then actively investigating technology choice in developing countries, took a leading role. In introducing this special issue, an attempt will be made to highlight the case for explicit, coherent and effective technology policy as the way forward in rapidly globalizing economies, especially those in the developing world. In this regard, this introductory paper will invoke some recently published evidence from three countries of the Indian subcontinent, namely Bangladesh, India and Nepal, all of which are low-income developing countries.

This article identifies different concepts of ‘appropriate technology’ and the strategies they imply. It is observed that while the original neoclassical strategy of adopting labour-intensive alternatives for medium- and large-scale production in developing countries has fallen out of favour, for small-scale developments, the ‘intermediate technology’ approach is recognized as valid for tackling the consequences of dualistic development. The accepted strategy for medium- and large-scale industry in less developed countries (LDCs) is now technological capability building based on technology transfer with the aim of achieving competitiveness in international markets. Finally, it is noted that subject to the rapid pace of globalization, developing countries are increasingly finding the task of catching-up both daunting and urgent.

Globalization is a pervasive influence on industrialization in the developing world. As the embodiment of technological progress and more open markets, it offers huge productive benefits to developing countries. However, its effects are very uneven. It is driving a growing wedge between the (relatively few) successful countries and the (large mass of) others. The wedge is not a temporary one, a ‘Jcurve’ that will reverse itself if countries persist with liberalization. It reflects underlying structural factors that are very difficult to alter in the short to medium term. Because of cumulativeness in these structural factors, divergences are likely to carry on growing unless measures are undertaken to reverse them. Development policy has to address these growing structural gaps and to reverse or relax the stringent rules of the game that constrain the use of (previously successful) industrial policy. Such successful industrial policies have taken many different forms and countries have to choose combinations that suit the demands of current globalization.

This paper attempts to set the significance of public innovation policies in contemporary developing countries in the context of the fast pace of globalization. It is fairly well established both in theory and practice that investment expenditure on innovation projects is likely to be low if left in the hands of private economic agents as they have a tendency to under-invest due to the ‘public good’ nature of the outcomes of R&D. However, policy in developing economies seldom takes seriously the importance of investment in innovation projects. This has not been without far-reaching implications for the growth and development performance of developing countries in general. The paper explores the role of international institutions and national governments in the task of strengthening national innovation systems through innovative interventions at national and international levels.

Technology transfer practices, though widely orchestrated for their significance, are rarely known for leading innovation and technological progress in developing countries. The gap between the acts of transfer and innovation has persisted mainly for two reasons. First, the orientation of learning and skill-development strategies in developing countries has largely been geared to sustaining rather than challenging or building on the prevailing state of knowledge. Second, the focus of policy on technology as a ‘black box’ entity has left the underlying issue of institutional and organizational fragmentation in developing countries unattended. Joint ventures are often preferred to other methods of technology transfer for their impact to break the cultural mould in the ‘black box’ and set the forces of change in motion. But they constitute only a small proportion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries; and where they occur, local partners are often relegated to activities that hardly involve the challenge of innovation. There is now a growing tide of awakening in developing countries that technology transfer can be better managed to leverage local innovation effort. Using the experience of Malaysia in technology transfer and economic growth, this paper discusses policy issues that would need to be addressed to enhance the effectiveness of technology transfer, in general, and joint ventures, in particular, as a vehicle for innovation and sustainable development.

This article presents a working definition of ‘competitiveness’ and ‘social capabilities’ which should be taken into consideration when dealing with industrializing countries that are facing the challenges and opportunities of the ICT techno-economic paradigm. Empirical evidence from nine production and innovation ‘arrangements’ in Brazil are used in order to indicate the need for public policy, so that these challenges can be properly managed and the opportunities fully captured at a time of intense competition in the world market.

This page shows a reference list of all the articles that have appeared in this volume of the journal.