Using learning networks to help improve manufacturing competitiveness

Innovation which requires the acquisition of new or improved technologies involves a technical and managerial learning process and it raises the policy question of how best to encourage and enable relevant learning. The absence or lack of experience in this domain is a particular problem for smaller firms (SMEs) and for enterprises in economies in transition-such as in the countries of the former Soviet Union or in eastern Europe. Successful technology transfer requires considerable management expertise as well as the availability of suitable solutions. This paper reports on one experimental approach used on a pilot basis in Romania to facilitate the absorption of 'new' manufacturing practices, which involves the development of 'learning networks' as an aid to this process. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.