ABSTRACT
There is general agreement in the literature as to what constitutes technological leapfrogging. Steinmueller (2001: 194), for example, defines the process as ‘bypassing stages in capacity building or investment through which countries were previously required to pass during the process of economic development’. According to Hobday (1995: 137),
The diffusion of the information technology paradigm and the rapid growth of the electronics industry have led some observers to believe that some developing countries may be able to leapfrog older vintages of technology and begin to catch up with advanced countries. According to this view, some industrializing economies are less hampered by commitments to previous generations of technology. Developing nations … may benefit from the windows of opportunity provided by the new paradigm, especially at the early stages of diffusion.
