Difussion of Technology in SMEs

In a knowledge economy the most important resource is exactly the knowledge. The way in which it contributes to accelerate the development derives from the process of technological diffusion. Based on theoretical notions regarding the innovation and technology diffusion we conducted an exploratory research with the purpose of identify: (i) The reasons for which SMEs conduct projects of technological development; (ii) The ways and means to promote the innovation process; (iii) The structure and particularities of the human resource involved in the absorption and diffusion of technology in a county from Romania. The specific theme of the paper is the predisposition of SMEs in industry for adoption and diffusion of technology. Study results suggest that the production companies that were analyzed adopt a strategy of incremental innovation on organizational and process level. This happens naturally, regardless of the policies practiced by the State. One important finding linked to the absorption process of new technologies, in the case of the studied companies, is that they managed to secure their production growth and the quality of their products in high profitability conditions. It was also found that there are a small number of production companies which adopt new technologies in order to develop innovative products. Because in the industrial sector analyzed were not done so far any studies that deal with the process of technological diffusion, we can conclude that our work provides an ‘gateaway’ for future research based on the conclusions of the study as suggested in the specialized literature.