Managing Innovation in Perceived Low-Tech Industries: A Review of the Technology Management Practices of the Fish Processing Industry of Newfoundland and Labrador

Typically, the fishing and fish processing industry has been considered less dynamic than other resources-dependent R&D-intensive industries such as the offshore oil industry (OECD, OECD science, technology and industry outlook 2006. OECD, Paris, 2006). Nonetheless, some “low-tech” industries have become capital intensive (Von Tunzelmann and Acha, Innovation in “Low-Tech” industries. In: Fagerberg J, Mowery D, Nelson (eds) The Oxford handbook of innovation. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 406–430, 2005; Robertson and Smith, Distributed knowledge bases in low-and medium-technology industries. In: Hirsch-Kreinsen H, Jacobson D (eds) Innovation in low-tech firms and industries. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp 93–116, 2008). We believe this is the case for the fishing industry in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), for which factors such as labour availability and cost, strong international competition, availability of fishing resources, etc. are transforming the way the industry conducts business. This chapter is aimed to present a case study-based, qualitative report of the implications and effects of product innovation, process innovation, systems’ integration and the need to rethink the management of technological innovations for the so-called low-tech industries. For these purposes, the authors will present two case studies. The first focuses on the innovative efforts to automate the production process for seafood and fish. The second concentrates on the management of innovation of fisheries supply chains, specifically the transportation of livestock to the point of sale by considering the use of electronic tags and wireless networks. The results of the chapter will provide guidelines for future research projects, since the fisheries industry has been deemed essential in the strategic economic development plan by the provincial government of NL and the Canadian federal government.