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Adaptive technology strategies and technical efficiency: Evidence from the Sri Lankan agricultural machinery industry
Author(s) -
Deraniyagala Sonali
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.744
Subject(s) - productivity , sri lanka , industrial organization , agriculture , economics , agricultural machinery , adaptive strategies , business , economic growth , history , ecology , archaeology , socioeconomics , biology , tanzania
Recent research has highlighted the importance of technology strategies in influencing the economic performance of firms in developing countries. Attention has focused on two types of strategies: the first involves adopting technologies developed elsewhere without undertaking any modifications and the second involves investing in such technologies but adapting them to suit firm‐specific needs and circumstances. Whilst it has been indicated that the second type of adaptive strategy is likely to lead to higher productivity gains than the first, this hypothesis has not been tested econometrically. Using survey data, this paper undertakes an econometric analysis of the effects of these alternative technology strategies on firm‐level technical efficiency in the agricultural machinery industry in Sri Lanka. Controlling for other possible determinants, it finds that adaptive strategies have a significant positive effect on efficiency in this industry. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.