Skill acquisition was poorly supported by the state, and three out of the five furniture training schools in Domiatt closed. The remaining two schools were poorly funded and lacked skilled teaching staff. A Domiatt Technical Centre was established, but was unable to fulfil its mandate due to lack of funding. Consequently, the lack of training facilities in Domiatt led to an erosion of the high level of skill and quantity of specialised artisans that gave Domiatt its competitive advantage in the first place. Table 3.10: Base technological capabilities (sample: 80 firms) unit’s Capability Firms (%) Construct own machinery 58 Construct own flexible machinery 43 Modify imported machinery 87 Number of product varieties, 25+ 85 Research and development 11 Internal design skills 9 Source: El-Shahat 2007 The showroom owners lacked essential R&D and design skills. Artisans producing furniture for the showroom owners lacked knowledge “white wood” in both creating and reading technical drawings. This was one of the consequences of the governance of the chain by the showroom owners. The small workshop owners had no experience with executing codified production for tastes in export markets. They produced to the specifications of the showroom owners, largely transmitted through pictures of the desired products in outdated (over 5 years old) catalogues (Table 3.11). Table 3.11: Sources for acquiring of knowledge on production and innovation Frequency of use of such a source Source of Knowledge (% of firms using such source at given frequency)
Skill acquisition was poorly supported by the state, and three out of the five furniture training schools in Domiatt closed. The remaining two schools were poorly funded and lacked skilled teaching staff. A Domiatt Technical Centre was established, but was unable to fulfil its mandate due to lack of funding. Consequently, the lack of training facilities in Domiatt led to an erosion of the high level of skill and quantity of specialised artisans that gave Domiatt its competitive advantage in the first place. Table 3.10: Base unit’s technological capabilities (sample: 80 firms) Capability Firms (%) Construct own machinery 58 Construct own flexible machinery 43 Modify imported machinery 87 Number of product varieties, 25+ 85 Research and development 11 Internal design skills 9 Source: El-Shahat 2007 The showroom owners lacked essential R&D and design skills. Artisans producing “white wood” furniture for the showroom owners lacked knowledge in both creating and reading technical drawings. This was one of the consequences of the governance of the chain by the showroom owners. The small workshop owners had no experience with executing codified production for tastes in export markets. They produced to the specifications of the showroom owners, largely transmitted through pictures of the desired products in outdated (over 5 years old) catalogues (Table 3.11). Table 3.11: Sources for acquiring of knowledge on production and innovation Source of Knowledge Frequency of use of such a source (% of firms using such source at given frequency)