Continuous Innovations in Production Technology in the Manufacturing Industry in Britain: A Networked Approach?

Drawing its argument from a range of theoretical perspectives, this paper proposes an integrated approach to study the role of user involvement in the continuous innovation of production technology. A framework is developed that outlines several sets of inter-organizational relationships among the organizations related to a given type of production technology. It also draws on data from questionnaire surveys and interviews in the UK to assess the extent to which supplier and user firms as well as their subcontracting firms adopt a network approach to sharing knowledge in the continuous innovation of the production technology to enhance performance.