Industrial capability and national technological competitiveness : the case of South Africa's civil aircraft industry

Abstract

The thesis is about analysing the capability of the civil aircraft industry in contributing towards improved national technological competitiveness. The South African government recognises the potential for the country’s aircraft industry to contribute to the growth of the national economy. However, it is not known if the current support mechanisms are adequate for developing the appropriate technological base and for promoting the innovative capabilities of the industry. Countries with successful aircraft industries were studied: South Korea and Brazil were used to represent emerging economies and France was used to represent developed economies. This was done to analyse existing models or frameworks and/or commonalities that led to the successful development of technologically competitive civil aircraft industries internationally. The South African civil aircraft industry was also studied, and its technology development competence was compared to that of successful countries. How the local technology development framework could be structured or improved, using lessons from successful countries, was considered. Local participants were representatives of the South African government departments or ministries (DTI; and DST), academia (The University of the Witwatersrand – Wits; and the University of Cape Town – UCT), research institutions (CSIR and NRF), and firms (Aerosud, Denel, and Aerospace Monitoring and Systems – AMS). Based on the analysis of the findings, frameworks aimed at improving the technological base of the South African civil aircraft industry were proposed as follows: </ul> <li> The development of technology capability building through government interventions. This emphasises aggressive government interventions that encourage collaboration between firms in the industry, and with research and higher education institutions, followed by major investment in research and development.</li> <li> An institutional structure for the development of national aircraft technology. This is aimed at strengthening the technology development arena of the South African aircraft industry, through acquired projects, but with less emphasis on business acquisition.</li> <li> The establishment of the South African Aircraft Industry Corporation (SAAIC), a technology development and skills-transfer programme.</li> </ul> Copyright