Technological capabilities and their implications for technical performance: the experience of two mobile phone companies in Brazil

Abstract

This article examines the implications of technological capability accumulation for technical performance improvement in two mobile phone companies in Brazil. The article adopts a comprehensive perspective on technological capability that goes beyond conventional elements – such as techno-physical systems and human capital – to capture the organizational dimension of technological capability. This article examines the technological activity – i.e. what the firm can do technologically on its onw – as an expression of technological capability. In order to operationalize such approach, this article makes use of a systematic, comprehensive and tailored framework for measuring technological capability accumulation in the mobile phone industry. The framework identifies types and levels of capabilities for three technological functions: (i) project management; (ii) services; and (iii) equipment. This article makes use of various technical performance indicators at the level of the case-study-companies (1993-2000). The article draws on first-hand empirical evidence collected through different data-gathering techniques during extensive fieldwork. The manner and speed of technological capability accumulation have played an important role in improving the technical performance of the case-study companies. The study suggests that an environment marked by competitive pressures and users´´´´´´´´ high-quality requirements stimulates firms to speed up their technological capability-accumulation process in order to improve their technical performance.