ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to examine the role of foreign technology in strengthening indigenous technological development and growth of international production of indigenous firms in developing countries.1 The theoretical framework adopted is based on the Schumpeterian premise that economic growth and performance are dependent on the creation of new technology, diffusion of technology and efforts related to the economic exploitation of innovation and diffusion (see, for example, Fagerberg, 1988; Badulescu, 1991 ; and applications for developing countries in Kim, 1980). The idea is implicit in the theory of technological competence as an important determinant of international competitiveness and the differential growth rates of firms (for further elucidation of the theory, see Cantwell, 1991a).
