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Organizational capabilities and technology acquisition: Why firms know less than they buy

Flowers, Stephen (2007) Organizational capabilities and technology acquisition: Why firms know less than they buy. Industrial and Corporate Change, 16 (3). pp. 317-346. ISSN 0960-6491. (doi:10.1093/icc/dtm011) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:51406)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icc/dtm011

Abstract

This article examines some of the main challenges faced by firms as they seek to acquire the high-technology capital goods, systems and services that form the core of their operational infrastructure. Although the acquisition of the parts or components required to build manufactured products has been widely explored in the innovation literature, the acquisition of the technological infrastructure required by firms to undertake such activities is poorly understood. The process of infrastructure acquisition is a key part of the firm's innovation process, yet many firms lack the in-house capabilities required to effectively undertake this activity as it is an infrequent and highly complex task: firms know less than they buy. The article introduces a buyer typology that relates the acquisition of high-technology capital goods and services to the purpose and frequency with which they are acquired and examines the challenges faced by firms in the buying process. The part played by external specialist suppliers and consultants in the acquisition process is also explored, and the wider impact on the firm's absorptive capacity and innovation processes are considered. © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/icc/dtm011
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: LA - English [Field not mapped to EPrints] J2 - Ind. Corp. Change [Field not mapped to EPrints] AD - Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM), University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QE, United Kingdom [Field not mapped to EPrints] DB - Scopus [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Uncontrolled keywords: high technology industry, industrial technology, infrastructural development, innovation, organizational change
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5351 Business
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Kent Business School (do not use)
Depositing User: Kimberley Attard-Owen
Date Deposited: 04 Nov 2015 10:53 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:21 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/51406 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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