Technology transfer and public policy: a review of research and theory

Abstract

My purpose is to review, synthesize and criticize the voluminous, multidisciplinary literature on technology transfer. To reduce the literature to manageable proportions, I focus chiefly (not exclusively) on recent literature on domestic technology transfer from universities and government laboratories. I begin by examining a set of fundamental conceptual issues, especially the ways in which the analytical ambiguities surrounding technology transfer concepts affect research and theory. My literature review follows and I emphasize technology transfer's impact and effectiveness. I employ a “Contingent Effectiveness Model of Technology Transfer” to organize the literature. As the model's name implies, it assumes that technology effectiveness can take a variety of forms. In addition to examining the more traditional effectiveness criteria- those rooted in market impacts- the model considers a number of alternative effectiveness criteria, including political effectiveness, capacity-building.