TITLE:
Assessing Technological Capability Gaps at an Ethiopian Metal-Manufacturing Plant: Implications for Industrial Upgrading
AUTHORS:
Haftom Aweke Haftimer, Guo Dong
KEYWORDS:
Technological Capability, Capability Gaps, Metal Manufacturing, Technology Upgrading, Organizational Learning, Industrial Competitiveness, Ethiopia
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.13 No.10,
October
29,
2026
ABSTRACT: Research on Ethiopian manufacturing has largely focused on productivity and capital deepening, while enterprise-level technological capability development remains underexamined. This study assesses plant-level technological capability and capability gaps at Mesfin Industrial Engineering PLC-Gelan Manufacturing Plant, Ethiopia. An explanatory mixed-methods case-study design was employed. Quantitative data were obtained through a census of 72 employees in production, maintenance, and quality, using a 24-item instrument adapted from Arnold and Thuriaux’s (1997) nine-dimensional technological-capability framework. The data were analyzed using proportional weighted scores and descriptive statistics. Qualitative evidence was generated through interviews with five key informants, observation, and document review, and was analyzed thematically to explain the quantitative results. The overall capability score was 54.86%, indicating low capability. Implementation Capability was the only moderate dimension (62.85%), while Assessment and Selection Capability was the weakest (51.91%). A 15-item assessment of capabilities for acquiring, absorbing, adapting, and improving transferred technologies produced a low score of 54.63%. Qualitative Findings also revealed reactive technology planning, aging equipment, limited modernization, inadequate training and knowledge documentation, weak organizational learning, and insufficient external collaboration. The study concludes that upgrading requires integrated interventions in technology planning, assessment and selection, knowledge transfer, employee development, equipment modernization, external partnerships, and continuous improvement. Theoretically, it provides empirical evidence of the framework’s applicability in a late-industrializing African manufacturing enterprise. Practically, it proposes a prioritized pathway focusing first on Assessment and Selection Capability, Technology Awareness, and External Linkages, while strengthening learning and implementation.