Technological capability development: The role of Infrastructural Technology A capacitação tecnológica na empresa: a função da Tecnologia Industrial Básica (TIB)

Abstract

The mastering of Infrastructural Technologies (IfT) - metrology, standardization, and conformity assessment - is not only a precondition for a firm's competitiveness, since it enables production in accordance with international norms; but it is also a requisite for the effective accumulation of technological capabilities aiming at technological innovations. In the specialized literature, there is a lack of studies that address the role of Infrastructural Technologies in the technology learning process. This article aims to fill that gap by proposing a model to assess and design the dynamic interrelationships between IfT and technological capability development. This model compares the mechanisms required in each one of the stages of IfT maturity to the organizational processes adopted by firms with different levels of technological capability reported in the literature. The data were collected through a survey of a sample of 103 metal-mechanics firms. It can be concluded that there is a strong relationship between the IfT's level of maturity and the firms' level of technological capability. In other words, the development of capability in IfT seems to be a precondition for the firms' technological development and innovation strategy.