This article examines the implications of technological capability accumulation for technical performance improvement in two mobile phone companies in Brazil. The article adopts a comprehensive perspective on technological capability that goes beyond conventional elements - such as techno-physical systems and human capital - to capture the organizational dimension of technological capability. This article examines the technological activity - i.e. what the firm can do technologically on its onw - as an expression of technological capability. In order to operationalize such approach, this article makes use of a systematic, comprehensive and tailored framework for measuring technological capability accumulation in the mobile phone industry. The framework identifies types and levels of capabilities for three technological functions: (i) project management; (ii) services; and (iii) equipment. This article makes use of various technical performance indicators at the level of the case-study-companies (1993-2000). The article draws on first-hand empirical evidence collected through different data-gathering techniques during extensive fieldwork. The manner and speed of technological capability accumulation have played an important role in improving the technical performance of the case-study companies. The study suggests that an environment marked by competitive pressures and users' high-quality requirements stimulates firms to speed up their technological capability-accumulation process in order to improve their technical performance.
Technological capability; technical performance; mobile phone industry
