AuthorUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development
TitleReport of the Expert Meeting on the Impact of Government Policy and Government/Private Action in Stimulating Inter-firm Partnerships regarding Technology Production and Marketing, with Particular Emphasis on North-South and South-South Linkages in Promoting Technology Transfers (know-how, management expertise) and Trade for SME Development
Imprint Geneva : United Nations, 1998
Connect tohttp://161.200.145.45/docs/en/c3em4d3.en.pdf
Descript 19 p

SUMMARY

Summary: The experts reaffirmed the importance of inter-firm cooperation in enabling firms to meet the challenges of the new international competitive environment. Inter-firm agreements cover a variety of arrangements between small, medium and large enterprises, including licensing and subcontracting relationships, technology, marketing and other forms of strategic partnering. Inter-firm cooperation could be an effective mechanism for capacity-building in areas such as technology, product and process quality improvements, marketing and managerial know-how, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While inter-firm cooperation is relatively widespread in developed countries, evidence shows that firms in developing countries and economies in transition face certain obstacles in participating in such arrangements. The experts discussed the main conditions for successful partnering. These include the identification of the right partner, the need for a common vision, trust and strong motivation, clarity of organizational structures and a thorough preparation based on adequate information. The experts recognized that there is a vast diversity of country situations, requiring differentiated responses with regard to inter-firm cooperation, particularly in the least developed countries (LDCs). The discussion at the Expert Meeting raised a number of issues that resulted in specific recommendations in terms of policy options and guidelines for different actors involved in the process of building inter-firm cooperation: for governments and national organizations in terms of setting the general policy framework and infrastructure, and in terms of providing direct services to SMEs at the local level; for the international community in terms of building bilateral or multilateral technical cooperation programmes fostering inter-firm cooperation; and for UNCTAD


LOCATIONCALL#STATUS
International Institute for Trade and Developement : UNCTAD CollectionTD/B/COM.3/12 & TD/B/COM.3/EM.4/3 CHECK SHELVES