MANAGING TECHNOLOGICAL-CHANGE IN MANUFACTURING SMES - A MULTIPLE CASEANALYSIS

Managing technological change has become one of the critical determina nts of organizational performance, if not of survival, for many a smal l and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in the manufacturing sector. It ha s thus become important for researchers to better understand how these firms adopt and implement new technologies. This paper presents a cas e study analysis of the technology adoption decision in 14 Canadian en terprises. Based on an analytical framework comprising 85 factors regr ouped into 18 variables, three distinct profiles are identified in ter ms of strategic advantage, technological expertise, the decision-makin g process and organizational capabilities. These results confirm that thew is no 'one best' strategy of technological change for SMEs.