Analysis of national technological competitiveness: South Africa’s civil aircraft industry

The objective of the paper is to provide investigative analysis of technological competitiveness in the South African (SA) civil aircraft industry. It discusses business trends and markets, technological competencies, capabilities and impediments. The paper is biased towards analyzing the technological base of the civil aircraft industry with the aim to recommend strategies for enhancing national competitiveness leading to accessibility of the global markets. It proposes that public and private sector institutions partner to develop appropriate strategies for exploiting existing industrial competencies and positioning the said industry towards increased national growth. It also proposes that SA firms focus on building technological capabilities to supply second and third tiers of the civil aircraft industry structure, based on the existing competencies and capabilities.