The Sample Background

This chapter provides some background information on the firms on which this study is based. The 19 firms covered in the Indian sample comprise 14 manufacturers and 5 consultants. The selection of firms was not random. It was attempted to survey the main firms which had exported technology or undertaken special technological effort in cement, iron and steel and textiles, as well as some firms of special interest. The three sectors are ‘basic industries’, with well-established technologies, which exist in all industrializing countries; these were also covered in the three other country studies sponsored by the World Bank. For each it was attempted to study the three main technological agents involved: manufacturers of the final product, manufacturers of capital goods used in that sector, and the consultants who provided process engineering and related services. It did not prove possible to get such a full coverage in every sector. The main manufacturer of steel industry equipment, the public sector Heavy Engineering Corporation, refused to be interviewed. The special case studies were selected on prior evidence of exceptional technological capability, and covered some of the leading enterprises in the country.