Description
In Technological Capabilities and Export Success in Asia, a team of international contributors argue that a policy of cheap labour, combined with currency devaluation is no longer sufficient for export success. They demonstrate through a series of case studies of firms in the textile garment and electronic industries of five Asian economies – Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam – that learning and capability formation are critical to sustain competitiveness. The main findings of these case studies include: * growing international competition and rising labour costs have reduced the time that new entrants into a market have for enjoying wage and cost advantages * there are no fixed formulas or sequences in technology capability formation for firms to become successful exporters of manufactured goods * but continuous innovation in product design, prodcution processes, management routines, marketing and the organization of production are the basis for competitiveness in all industries and in all countries * learning and internalization of knowledge are crucial to acquiring the technological know-how to break into export markets and then maintain market share * and domestic demand is of increasing importance in the region in terms of providing opportunities for dynamic growth in the market for manufactured goods. Le Dieu Anh, Institute for Economic Success, Hochiminh City, Viet Nam; Tran Ngoc Ca, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Dieter Ernst, Copenhagen Bus
