A collaborative technology management approach toward a competitive advantage in the Caribbean manufacturing sector

Development in the Caribbean has historically depended upon the exploitation of natural resources from contributing sectors such as energy, agriculture and tourism. Recent dynamics including depleting non-renewable reserves, destructive climatic phenomenon and global economic factors highlight the urgent need for Caribbean economies to shift their revenue-generating base to more resilient sectors. Against the backdrop of economies of scale, the initial findings of a recent study of the innovation and technology acquisition practices of firms in the Caribbean support the need for a collaborative approach toward technology management (TM). This paper presents a research initiative on the development and adoption of collaborative TM efforts among Caribbean manufacturing firms with emphasis on the management of their technological assets. A conceptual collaborative TM framework is proposed. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this investigation would be of value to 1) the manufacturing practitioners who strive for gaining a competitive advantage with collaboration and 2) the researchers who conduct further empirical inquiries into the collaborative TM capabilities among manufacturing firms in the Caribbean.