Interactive learning and firm-level capabilities in latecomer settings: : The Nigerian manufacturing industry

• Autores: Abiodun A. Egbetokun
• Localización: Technological Forecasting and Social Change, ISSN-e 1873-5509, Vol. 98, Nº. 1, 2015, págs. 231-241
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Combining insight from strategic management, evolutionary economics and latecomer capability literatures, this paper analyses the relationship between interactive learning and capabilities in a sample of Nigerian manufacturing firms. A distinction is made between formal and informal modes of interactive learning. Results from multivariate probit estimations show that both modes are positively associated with firm-level capabilities but informal interactions dominate. These results have some implications for policy and practice. Firms may become more capable of innovating if they connect with externally-generated knowledge. However, the apparent difference in importance of formal and informal linkages suggests that the choice of how and when to form linkages is non-trivial. It also suggests the need for broad-based policies to nurture both types of linkages