Technology transfer from a knowing organisation perspective: an empirical study of the implementation of a European patent management system in Brazil

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamics of information- and knowledge-based activities in a technical cooperation project involving the European and the Brazilian patent offices. These activities are analysed using the 'knowing organisation' framework, which postulates that learning and innovation in organisations result from managing holistically the processes of sensemaking, knowledge creation, and decision-making. While the development of software applications is often seen merely as a technical engineering endeavour, localisation and adaptation are context bounded matters that are characterised by many entanglements that require a constant and complex negotiation process. As such, this article intends to contribute to filling a gap in knowledge management literature via empirical evidence on the transfer of a patent management system from Europe to Brazil. It also attempts to understand the role of context in the recipient organisation, namely the Brazilian Patent Office. We have found evidence that the knowledge creation process in this project focused on filling perceived gaps and involved both expanding non-traditional capabilities within the group, as well as acquiring expertise from outside the group.