A technology gap analysis of leading firms in Cape Town

Abstract

This paper focuses on technology gaps between leading firms in Cape Town and the global frontier. In each sector we establish frontier technologies through a review of the literature, as well as examples of global firms that make use of them. Although knowledge evidently exists not only at but also below the frontier, the increasing importance of innovation for competitiveness underlines the importance of local knowledge being linked to knowledge at the frontier. This is why this paper is not an assessment of the average technological competence of any sector. Although average capabilities are important in this context as well, without advanced capabilities of at least some players, global competitiveness is likely to remain an elusive goal.