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Structural Immunity and Technology Diffusion in Nepal:Planned Technology and Unplanned Adaptation

Raj Kumar BhattaraiNepal Commerce Campus

Faculty of ManagementTribhuvan University

raj.bhattarai@outlook.com

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The parable

Technology planners, carriers, and adopters develop immunity

Congruence between planned technology and planned

adaptation is essential

Structural setting and technology diffusion are reciprocals

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Technology planning context in Nepal

Absence of technology planning before 1956

Continuation of technology planning from 1956

More than a half-century long planned technology

No more changes in the contents and discourses of technology

planning priorities

Continuity in reappearances of the technology planning priorities in

one after another periodic plans from 1956 to the year 2010

No significant achievement in the process of technology development

and diffusion in the country

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Statement of the problem

What were the technology planning priorities and structural

settings during the planned economic efforts of more than 50

years in Nepal?

How well the technology planning priorities and structural

setting aligned for the technology diffusion in Nepal?

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Methods

Overview of 5849 plus pages of the periodic plan and review

documents of Nepal (1956 to 2010)

Overview of the structural/organizational setting for the

technology diffusion as envisaged in the plan documents

Interviews with opinion leaders from the

structural/organizational settings

Contents/discourse analysis and triangulation of the contents

and discourses with intuitive evaluation

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Data sources for the content/discourse analysis

Planning priorities in the 12 periodic planning and review

documents (1956-2013)

Priorities and focused areas of the country’s technology

policies and acts

Functional areas and objectives of the selected organizations

Response of the opinion leaders

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Discussion

Agricultural technology prioritized but farmers’ were working with their own ways of cultivating, farming, and harvesting

Promotion/development of indigenous/local technology emphasized but there was no more assessment of its mechanisms

Developmental projects based on foreign assistance but there was NO use of indigenous/local technology

Information Technology (IT) development and adaptation intended but there were no more efforts of integrating IT in agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries

Technological development was highly intended but there was no regulator for guiding and facilitating in the area

Structural setting for technology diffusion

TECHNOLOGY DIFFUS

ION

Regulatory

Organizing

culture

Industry and

services

Agriculture

Education and

IT

Compliance

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Conclusion: structural immunity to technology diffusion

Agriculture sector immunity: The farmers were habitual with traditional technology/processes and they were unable to adopt new technology in absence of socioeconomic compatibility

Industrial sector immunity: There was incompatibility with hardware, software, brainware, know-how and know-why

Educational sector immunity: The instructors and students both were uncomfortable with the new course contents and the teaching pedagogy

Governmental sector immunity: Government officials were more authoritarian instead of cooperative consultant

Organizing cultural sector immunity: Solidarity was mechanistic with a rigid authority hierarchy in parallel of national planning priorities

Compliance sector immunity: Good (corporate) governance was a compulsion and ethical business was questioning

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QUESTIONS

PLEASE

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THANKS