Abstract Technology localization refers to activities that seek to make particular technologies locally functional and locally embedded in order to overcome resistance to their adoption. These activities can be described as diffusion, institutional support, and technical adaptation. In developing societies that face experiences of resistance to technological change, several organizational agents could serve as agents of localization. This paper showcases a number of social enterprises in East Africa – particularly in Tanzania – that are involved in localizing technologies for sustainable energy and agricultural mechanization. Field data were collected between December 2014 and September 2015. Staff, clients and partners of the social enterprises were interviewed. In addition, field observations and a scan of accessible reports and documents of social enterprises and their partner organizations took place. The cases demonstrate technology localization activities and assess the effectiveness of these social enterprises as agents of localization. The study concluded that, given appropriate tools and context, such as engaging early adopters of innovation and staying attuned to feedback from local communities, social enterprises can be effective agents of technology localization.

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东非技术本地化的推动力：坦桑尼亚社会企业的案例研究

摘要技术本地化是指旨在使特定技术在本地运行并在本地嵌入以便克服对其采用的抵制的活动。这些活动可以描述为传播，机构支持和技术适应。在面临抵制技术变革的经验的发展中社会中，几个组织机构可以充当本地化的代理。本文展示了东非，尤其是坦桑尼亚的许多社会企业，它们参与了本地化可持续能源和农业机械化的技术。在2014年12月至2015年9月之间收集了实地数据。对社会企业的员工，客户和合作伙伴进行了采访。此外，进行了实地观察，并对社会企业及其伙伴组织的无障碍报告和文件进行了扫描。这些案例展示了技术本地化活动，并评估了这些社会企业作为本地化代理商的有效性。该研究得出的结论是，在适当的工具和环境下，例如让创新的早期采用者参与进来，并保持对本地社区反馈的关注，社会企业可以成为技术本地化的有效推动者。