Technology absorption capacity and firm growth in Africa
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Technology absorption has become an important driving force for firm competition, strategy and survival. Consequently, the capacity of African firms to absorb the right technology has dominated the contemporary discourse on the performance of African firms. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory and employing ordinary least squares regression model (OLS), we investigated the impact of human capital, access to credit, and electricity on the technology absorption capacity of African firms. Our evidence suggests that technology absorption in practice has the potential to increase performance. Nevertheless, a broad access to credit, electricity, and effective human capital development, we argue, accounts for the differential performance of African firms in developing technology absorption capacity. While education quality in promoting technology absorption in Africa is essential, governance structures do not seem to support the same. We conclude by delineating relevant implications of our study for policy and practice of technology absorption in Africa.
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4253971365