WILL LOW TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS DISAPPEAR - THE HIDDEN INNOVATION PROCESSES IN LOW TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES

Political discussions and analyses have usually been devoted to an und erstanding of the development of high technology products, although lo w technology products have dominated the industrial structure of the O rganization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The important role of low technology products in these countries rais es the question of whether we can observe a technological paradox in t he industrial structure of the more advanced nations, the dominant rol e of this sector in spite of its competitive disadvantages because of high wages. Using the Danish packaging industry as an example, a centr al thesis in the article is that innovation processes are important in low technology industries. They are also often an integrated part of the marketing and production functions of the firm. The innovation pro cesses in the low technology industries are therefore too complex for traditional R&D analyses to handle. The article points out that-especi ally in small firms-the ''practical man'' and his ''tacit knowledge'' play a very central role in both product and process development, and that low technology, even in the future, will play a central role in t he industrial structure of the OECD countries. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scien ce Inc.