ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explain some of the ways in which new technology can influence a company's competitiveness, particularly on the product side. They explore the importance of human factors in determining the success or otherwise of the deployment decision and suggest that competition by means of innovation is a process which has some obvious benefits to the consumer, but some less obvious disadvantages to some producers. New technology improves the competitiveness of firms in different ways according to the specific nature of the technology and the circumstances of the particular firm. Prior to the advent of new technology, many engineering firms had large amounts of working capital tied up in the form of stocks of finished and semi-finished goods, materials and components. In industries where the technology is changing rapidly and competition is intense, the survival of the firm itself may be at stake.
