Technology is taking on an increasingly central and determining role in so ciety, and can provide contradictory results: wealth on the one hand, but also unemployment, environmental imbalances and other social problems on the other. Manufacturing techniques and production organization are chosen in every country based mainly on the specific needs of the companies, while the real needs of each population are often quite different. Already, in order to prevent all forms of technology from becoming in creasingly "invasive", towards both the natural supply of resources and the specific - though highly differentiated - needs of humanity, technological paths must be identified and followed which are capable of making the vari ous needs compatible, from the standpoint of sustainable development, the conservation and increase in value of natural resources, and the quality of development. This will become increasingly important in the future. This goal is undoubtedly ambitious and difficult to achieve; however, evi dence of the problems caused by generalized, uncontrolled use of technolo gy, all over the world, leads us to believe that intense efforts must be made to achieve this aim. If not, humankind runs the risk of an irreversible degra dation of the most important aspects of economic development and its quali ty. Within this framework, those companies that produce goods and services obviously occupy a central, active role, which they must play with a view both to competitiveness and overall qualification and to contributing to the objectives of sustainable development.
This volume intends to provide a methodological framework, capable of critically analyzing the multiple aspects related to technological dynamics, and to arrive - at times ex post, at times ex ante - at assessments regarding the economic results that can be achieved at all levels, with the innovation and diffusion of technologies in the manufacturing activities. For this purpose, this volume describes and critically evaluates conceptual and quantitative methods and models which seem capable of achieving this goal.This volume includes a number of distinctive features, the most important of which are the relationships between technological dynamics, knowledge, production systems and structures, quality, efficiency, natural resources, ecological systems and sustainable development. The approach used in organizing this volume has been an interdisciplinary one; methods for analysis typical of various disciplines were used with the aim at arriving at economic conclusions, assessments and generalizations. In short, it may be defined as techno-economic.
Special emphasis is given to the criteria, guidelines and economic policy instruments that must be implemented in order to guide technological evolution in pursuit of the aims of sustainable development, within the framework of new economic targets and hierarchies of technologies and products.This volume is designed for use by economists, business executives, policy makers, as well as for designers and technicians who may find it useful to refer to this type of technical and economic approach. Such an approach is not strictly limited to business aspects, but designed to identify and develop appropriate technological pathways, which can be advantageous both to the companies adopting this approach and to the economy as a whole in such a way as to overcome the present negative contrasts.
