Technology transfer in the Northern Ireland food processing sector

Technical progress and its adoption are recognized as probably the most important source of improvement in the productivity and competitiveness of firms in any industry. While progress is an essential prerequisite for the transfer of technology, focuses on the process of transfer itself prompted by a lack of research in this area within the Northern Ireland food‐processing industry. The analysis investigated innovation and identified a diffusion pattern for the uptake of innovations. It also obtained a measure for the rate of technology transfer and identified the principal factors influencing the process. The results indicated factors that could be used to accelerate the diffusion of new technologies as being the education levels of managers;R&D expenditure; and the profitability of the innovation. There was also a suggestion that the poultry and dairy sectors were more progressive than the others in their approach to business.