Industrial innovation diffusion: the extent of use and disuse of process technologies in engineering

This paper addresses two important issues ir the study of industrial innovation diffusion. the extent of use of an innovation throughout the production process, and the disuse of innovations. Evidence for the spatial patterns of use and disuse from a longitudinal survey of British engineering establishments is presented. The extent of use of technology is not found to be spatially differentiated, but reinvestment in newer technologies may be more prevalent in the core regions of the country. Rejection of technology owing to unsuitability or problems in the adoption process is found to reflect establishment-level rather than locational characteristics.