Catch-up Process in Aircraft Industry: A Model Based on Experiences of Six Latecomer Countries

This article presents a staircase model for the catch-up process in the aircraft industry based on Reverse Product Life Cycle (RPLC). The model is composed of five consecutive phases: (1) maintenance and repair; (2) licensed production; (3) enhancing technological capabilities; (4) independent aircraft development from behind the technology frontier; and (5) independent aircraft development at the technology frontier. In order to propose this model, the catch-up processes in the aircraft industry in six latecomer countries (Brazil as a successful case, Japan and China which are still in the catch-up process and Romania, Indonesia and Argentina as unsuccessful cases) were studied. Then their activities in the catch-up process were categorized based on Miles and Huberman's data analysis method. Finally, the catch-up processes of all surveyed countries were considered on the same timeline, to gain a better perception about dynamics of different phases of the catch-up process in the aircraft industry. This suggested some ideas about: (1) overlaps between different phases; (2) relative size of different phases; and (3) different possible routes between phases. It was also concluded that in the aircraft industry, evolution based on sequential steps is more successful than jumping between different steps. The validity of the model is checked by its conformity with other studies on catch-up models. In addition, the catch-up processes of all surveyed countries were successfully mapped to the proposed model.