Fafchamps, MarcelSöderbom, Måns2013-09-042013-09-042013-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15606Patterns of correlation in innovation and contractual practices among manufacturing firms in Ethiopia and Sudan are documented. Network data that indicate whether any two firms in the utilized sample do business with each other, buy inputs from a common supplier, or sell output to a common client are used for the analysis. Only limited support is found for the commonly held idea that firms that are more proximate in a network sense are more likely to adopt similar practices. Indeed, for certain practices, adoption decisions appear to be local strategic substitutes: if one firm in a given location uses a certain practice, nearby firms are less likely to do so. These results suggest that the diffusion of technology and new business practices may play a more limited role in spurring growth in Africa's manufacturing sector than is often assumed in the present policy discussion.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOBUSINESSESCAPACITY BUILDINGCLERKSCODESCOMPANYCOMPETITORSCOMPONENTSCORPORATIONSCOVARIANCE MATRIXCUSTOMDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICSDIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONSDISPUTE RESOLUTIONECONOMIC ANALYSISECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTEMAIL ADDRESSEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT GROWTHEQUIPMENTEXTERNALITIESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFIRM SIZEFIRMSHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN RESOURCESINDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTINDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONINDUSTRIAL STRUCTUREINDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITYINFORMATION EXCHANGEINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINNOVATIONINNOVATIONSINTERNATIONAL TRADEJOB CREATIONLABOR FORCELABOR MANAGEMENTLABOR PRODUCTIVITYLEVELS OF USAGEMANUFACTURERSMANUFACTURINGMATERIALMICROENTERPRISESMISSING VALUESMULTIPLE EQUILIBRIANETWORK DATANETWORKSNEW TECHNOLOGIESNEW TECHNOLOGYNICHE MARKETSOPEN ACCESSORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREPERFORMANCE INDICATORSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPRIVATE SECTORPRODUCTION PROCESSPRODUCTION PROCESSESPRODUCTIVITYPRODUCTIVITY GROWTHQUALITY MANAGEMENTR&DRESOURCE ALLOCATIONRESULTRESULTSSPINOFFSTORESUPPLIERSUPPLIERSTECHNOLOGICAL CHANGETECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONTECHNOLOGY DIFFUSIONTRAINING COURSEUSESVALUE CHAINWAGESWEBWEBSITEWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-6474