Channels Of Technology Transfer Research Articles

Sustainable university – Knowledge and technology transfer channels to enterprises

The main aim of the article is an empirical verification of the channels through which the transfer of knowledge and technology from technical universities to enterprises takes place. The specific objective is to indicate the forms in which scientists can transfer knowledge and technology to enterprises in the field of sustainable solutions. In order to identify the features of the hidden dimensions of the university-enterprise relationship, the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used. The factor analysis showed that there are 3 channels through which scientists from technical universities establish relations with enterprises: the consulting and educational channel, the scientific and information channel, and the research and commercialization channel. In each of these channels, forms of knowledge and technology transfer have been identified that may relate to environmental topics for enterprises.

South-to-North direct investment in a quality ladders model

ABSTRACT This paper develops a quality ladders model with endogenous technology-sourcing direct investment from the developing South to the developed North. In the model, Southern firms undertake innovation by setting up R&D subsidiaries in the North and transfer the state-of-the-art back to their parents when innovation succeeds. In contrast to previous models, we introduce outward foreign direct investment (FDI) of Southern multinationals, a new channel for international technology transfer from the North to the South, so as to capture the features of active technology seeking of the South. We also apply the model to examine the effects of Southern outward FDI incentives on innovation, production and welfare.

Study on the influence of foreign direct investment on innovations in enterprises in Poland using the ECM model

In many theories of economics and empirical research, foreign direct investment (FDI) is perceived as a potential technology transfer channel bringing tangible benefits to FDI exporting countries and host countries. In light of some theories, such as Vernon’s product life cycle theory or Dunning’s pull factor theory, and the results of empirical research, the impact of inward FDI flows inhibits the development of innovation or has a neutral effect on innovation in the host country. In the era of the growing internationalisation of enterprises, and the search for opportunities for enterprises to compete on the domestic and foreign markets, innovation is becoming one of the most important elements of building a competitive advantage. Innovation and new technologies are also of fundamental importance for Polish enterprises that want to compete effectively. The question is, to what extent FDI in Poland favours this process, and to what extent limits it? In the empirical studies conducted so far for the Polish economy in the field of the relationship between the inflow of FDI and innovation, there are not many models that would allow to describe the cause-effect relationship between the discussed categories. The authors of this article attempt to fill this research gap. The main goal was to examine the directions and intensity of the impact of foreign direct investment on the level of innovation of enterprises in the main sectors of the economy in Poland. The study used, among others, panel data models with error correction mechanism (ECM) and the Granger causality test. The results confirmed the positive impact of foreign direct investment on the innovativeness of enterprises both in the industrial sector and in the service sector. Moreover, the impact of FDI on the innovativeness of enterprises in the industrial sector turned out to be stronger than the impact on the innovativeness of companies from the service sector.

Knowledge and technology transfer via publications, patents, standards: Exploring the hydrogen technological innovation system

Clean technologies play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the climate. Hydrogen is a promising energy carrier and fuel that can be used in many applications. We explore the global hydrogen technological innovation system (TIS) by analyzing the three knowledge and technology transfer channels of publications, patents, and standards. Since the adoption of hydrogen technologies requires trust in their safety, this study specifically also focuses on hydrogen safety. Our results show that general and hydrogen safety research has increased significantly while patenting experienced stagnation. An analysis of the non-patent literature in safety patents shows little recognition of scientific publications. Similarly, publications are underrepresented in the analyzed 75 international hydrogen and fuel cell standards. This limited transfer of knowledge from published research to standards points to the necessity for greater involvement of researchers in standardization. We further derive implications for the hydrogen TIS and recommendations for a better and more impactful alignment of the three transfer channels.

Knowledge and Technology Transfer Channels Used by the Academy: Evidence from Mexico

Knowledge and Technology Transfer Channels Used by the Academy: Evidence from Mexico

The impact of intellectual property rights protection on low-carbon trade and foreign direct investments

Climate negotiations on low-carbon technology transfer have largely revolved around the role of intellectual property rights (IPR). Some countries consider a strong IPR regime to be a necessary condition for technology transfer, while others argue that it limits developing countries' access to affordable green technologies. We contribute to this discussion by assessing the effect of IPR protection on the two main channels of international low-carbon technology transfer, namely trade in low-carbon capital goods and foreign direct investment (FDI) by firms owning low-carbon technologies. Our data describe transfer through these channels among 140 countries in eight climate-friendly technology areas between 2006 and 2015. We find that stronger IPR protection in recipient countries increased transfer in six technology areas (solar PV, solar thermal, wind, heating, lighting, and cleaner vehicles), while the effect is statistically insignificant in the other two (hydro and insulation). The results differ slightly when focusing on the case of non-OECD countries. Stricter IPRs did not have a statistically significant impact on trade in low-carbon capital goods, but they accelerated FDI in almost all low-carbon technology areas.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship of Professors in Public Universities: Case Study in Brazil

In the literature on academic entrepreneurship, the creation of academic spin-offs is one of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) channels most studied. The use of different KTT channels and the creation of spin-offs can be a source of opportunity for the overflow of knowledge and innovation with wealth creation. Although with a broad spectrum, research on academic entrepreneurship still has gaps to be explored in the literature. In Brazil, there is a lack of studies that explain more specifically how the professor at the public university transfers knowledge and technology and undertakes entrepreneurial activities. The main motivations of the doctoral research presented in this article are the lack of studies concerning the trajectory of successful entrepreneurial professors and the exploration of the use of different KTT channels in academic entrepreneurship for wealth creation. The general goal of the research is to identify the strategies used during the innovation trajectory of entrepreneurial professors in Information Technology (IT), who converted knowledge and scientific assets into wealth. To meet this goal, an adapted retrospective roadmapping approach was used to collect data, to map and to analyze the life trajectory of innovation of six professors from three Brazilian Public Universities in the IT area. The results made it possible to understand how professors innovated, became entrepreneurs and transferred knowledge and technology. They mobilized 136 strategies using different channels (e.g., Entrepreneurs Training, Collaborative Research and Development Projects, Technology Residency, Academic Spin-offs Creation, Academic Consulting). The professors' strategies resulted in a value distribution, with considerable wealth (tangible and intangible). The results showed that although there is no pattern in the professors' trajectories of innovation and entrepreneurship, there are several strategies common to the cases. One of them was to train qualified personnel at the university, based on intensive research in knowledge seeking to solve real market problems.

A Review on the Mechanization of Date Palm Cultivation

Date palm is important cultivation for arid regions and its cultivation is expanding, though challenges to its modernization still remain partially unsolved: the mechanization of the most important farming operations is not fully developed, though various attempts have been carried out over time. The aim of this review paper is to provide an overview of the most characterizing research works directed at mechanizing farm operations for date palms in the three main morphological zones: crown, trunk, and roots. Various parameters such as maneuverability, working height, payload, cost, and working capacity have been considered by different authors for the performance analysis of their proposals, though safety is considered by all the main drivers of the research. The projects that have been developed and the relevant results can provide a useful reference for those who want to engage in further developing this sector or in applying some of the more effective proposed solutions. In order to promote this field of research, these attempts of mechanization of date palm cultivation need to concretize it with commercialised devices and machines mainly by strengthening the channels of technology transfer between the university and the socio-economic world on the one hand, and by encouraging the industry to adopt these research results, on the other.

Assessing the Impact of the UK’s Research Excellence Framework on the Relationship between University Scholarly Output and Education and Regional Economic Growth

This paper assesses the relationship between stakeholder influence, university scholarly and educational output, and regional economic growth. Specifically, we theorize that stakeholder intervention with respect to university teaching and learning, scholarly research, and entrepreneurship enhances the contribution of universities to regional economic growth. We test this theory using data from the United Kingdom’s Research Excellence Framework (REF), an evaluation of the research impact of British higher education institutions. We find that business school graduates, as well as graduates in STEM and health fields, have a positive impact on regional human capital development. On the other hand, stakeholder influence, through the REF, appears to have a negative effect on the retention of human capital but a positive effect on commercialization in the region. Our findings provide new evidence of positive economic spillovers arising from university research and education and the role of fields, such as business administration, in enhancing human capital development and economic growth. They also lend credence to the notion that graduates are an important channel of knowledge and technology transfer.

The relationship between universities and business: identification of thematic communities

This article analyses the link between universities and business from a neo-Schumpeterian evolutionary theory perspective. It aims to identify the thematic communities present in the literature that deals with the university-business relationship, highlighting the focuses of interest of this literature and currently emerging themes. Social network analysis and text mining tools are used for this purpose. The present contribution differs from other reviews by using large datasets, which made it possible to discern aggregate trends in scientific output. Six thematic communities were detected in the literature: technology parks, entrepreneurial university, triple helix, transfer channels, geographic perspective and open innovation. Once these communities were defined, the characteristics of each one were identified, along with their linkages, differences and limitations, with a view to gaining an understanding of the knowledge transfer processes.

South–south technology transfer: the case of pharmaceutical know-how in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda

Abstract Technological capabilities that are necessary for industrial development are often learned from others. But where does technology come from and through which channels? This article identifies a change in the source of pharmaceutical know-how in East Africa, from the global north to the global south. This shift in the countries from which know-how arrived coincided with a shift in the channels through which know-how was transferred, from channels that enhance individual capabilities to channels that enhance firm capabilities. What impact do such changes have on local production? I show that these changes not only led to increased inclusion—it became possible for nascent entrepreneurs with lesser resources to enter the sector—but also to increased internal differentiation. I also suggest that foreign direct investment functions as a countervailing force that reverses locally owned industrialization. Understanding sources and channels of technology transfer, and their impact, is an important contribution to the study of technology transfer and of industrial development more generally.

Productivity and technological externalities: Study based on a dynamic panel model for developing countries

The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of trade and financial openness, through the technology transfer channel, on total factor productivity (TFP) in a panel of developing countries between 1988 and 2014. According to a growing body of literature on the subject, there is a strong link between openness and eco-nomic growth, but are technological externalities a key element for developing countries? To answer this question, we resorted to dynamic panel data modeling, thus allowing us to detect the eventual impact. The main results of our study show a positive and significant effect of exports and the externalities of technol-ogy conveyed by foreign trade on TFP. As for the imports of goods, apart from those with high technological content, they have a negative and significant effect. How-ever, the identification of the effect of human capital and foreign direct invest-ment is far from obvious. The results show that they have a positive but statis-tically insignificant effect.

‘Africa’s China’: Chinese manufacturing investment in Nigeria and channels for technology transfer

ABSTRACT Nigeria has been one of the primary destinations for Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa, with emerging clusters in manufacturing sectors. FDI holds potential for technology transfer processes that can foster wider industrialization and structural transformation, but this depends on the development of local linkages that can foster positive spillovers. Through fieldwork and structured survey methods, this paper examines drivers of Chinese outward investment in Nigeria, particularly from 2014 to 2017, highlighting linkages and mechanisms of technology transfer that may catalyze transformation processes and taking a critical view of their potential. I find that, while cases of technology and skills transfer exist, investing firms face challenges of poor infrastructure, lack of skills, and low social trust, which hinder the development of linkages and industrial supply chains. In the wake of the 2014 economic recession, firms cited political and exchange rate instability as challenging; however, greater localization and building local linkages make firms better prepared to weather such challenges.

US foreign direct investment, technology transfer and the productivity of hydrocarbon-dependent economies: The case of Algeria

This article investigates the impact of US Direct Investments (foreign direct investments [FDI]) as channel of international technology transfer on total factor productivity (TFP) of Algeria from 1969 to 2019. We use export diversification distance as relative backwardness (GAP) and revealed comparative advantage (RCA) as trade concentration term. An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach is used to check for the long-run relationship. The results show that considering the sector of investment, the TFP is differently impacted. Indeed, the impact of FDI of hydrocarbon activities on TFP is negative and statistically significant. As for the out-hydrocarbons sector, the impact is positive with statistical significance. The negative impact of FDI in the scope of hydrocarbons sector can be mainly explained by the effect of industry concentration. This is supported empirically by the negative effect of RCA. We also find that large GAP has negative effect on TFP, contrasting the theory of the advantage of the relative backwardness.

Is trade openness a carrier of knowledge spillovers for developed and developing countries?

The present study examines a database of 58 countries for a period of 45 years to assess whether trade openness can operate as a technology transfer channel. The examination has a twofold purpose: determining the impact of openness on total factor productivity and verifying whether this relationship holds for low-income and emerging countries. Employing the generalized method of moments for a data-panel model (System GMM), the analysis focuses on domestic and foreign knowledge capital stocks and level and variation of openness, among other variables. The results indicate that the level of trade openness does not affect productivity growth, though its variation rate has temporary positive effects on total factor productivity. However, for high- and middle-income countries, the openness level affects productivity positively. In the case of low-income and emerging countries, however, openness affects productivity growth negatively even when the degree of openness interacts with domestic knowledge stock.

Choosing between Formal and Informal Technology Transfer Channels: Determining Factors among Spanish Academicians

Technology transfer has become one of the most important activities that must be developed by universities. However, there are multiple ways to do it. We can differentiate, essentially, between formal transfer (which is carried out through the channels established and controlled by the university staff, legalized through contracts) and informal (channels not legalized by signing a contract). Both types of transfers have diverse implications, which is why their study is necessary. This research aimed to study what are the determinants that lead academics to choose one or another channel of technology transfer. To this end, an empirical study was carried out by sending a questionnaire ad hoc to which a total of 1215 researchers responded. The results show that the choice of formal transfer channels depends on the academic experience in informal channels, as well as on the capacity and that of organizational justice. These results have important implications for policy makers and university managers.

Контроль США над международными каналами трансферта технологий: вызовы, механизмы, тенденции

With the end of World War II, the United States is constantly fighting for global technological leadership, claiming a dominant position in this area. Control over international technology transfer channels is seen by the United States as an essential mechanism for maintaining this leadership. The article identifies three “waves” of tightening control over technology transfer in the context of maintaining national security: the cold war period, the 80s in response to the unfolding competition with Japan, and the modern stage. Within each stage, the author examines the main challenges to American technological dominance, control mechanisms, and trends in control policy. The development of technology transfer controls in the United States is currently undergoing another cycle of tightening. In the US export control regime, the role of embargoes and sanctions has again increased. The extraterritorial use of the punitive apparatus has expanded, and the language of ultimatums has become more common. Control over investment transactions is tightening. Mechanisms for controlling technology transfer within the United States are being improved. The US is looking for an enemy. In the National Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technologies, China and Russia are considered as the main strategic competitors. It is argued that both states have a vital interest in American technology and use all possible means to obtain it. Nevertheless, China has become the No. 1 enemy for the Trump administration. The technological war between the United States and China most clearly reflects the methods of struggle for global leadership. Perhaps the actions of the new American administration will become less impulsive, it will change the focus in this struggle, but will not abandon it. Control over international technology transfer channels will continue to be in demand and will be improved.

Why Farmers Get Involved in Participatory Research Projects? The Case of Arable Crops Farmers in Greece

This paper seeks to underline the driving factors of farmers’ engagement in Participatory Research Projects (PRPs). This is a critical issue for formulating efficient and effective technology transfer channels, essential for improving the operational status of agricultural holdings. A survey was conducted on a sample of 326 Greek arable crops farmers. An explanatory framework consisting of three major factor categories and 11 variables was developed. A logistic regression analysis empirically tests the effect of the variables on the participation of farmers in PRP. Furthermore, the relative importance of variables and factors is extracted with the Shapley–Owen decomposition analysis. The results show that Farmers’ Willingness and Social Influences are the factors that mostly affect their decision to engage in a PRP. The farmers’ ability consisting of socioeconomic and demographic variables has a small effect on their decision-making process. The estimated effects can help decision-makers to shape and prioritize more targeted policies for farmers’ engagement in research. Additionally, this paper sets the basis for shifting research from simple estimations of the effect of variables on farmers’ decision-making, to a more comprehensive estimation that also accounts for the strength of these relationships. The paper fills a gap in the literature of studies on farmers’ decisions for participating in PRPs, by developing and testing an explanatory framework which also accounts for the relative importance of each factor/variable.

Global value chains and technology transfer: new evidence from developing countries

International trade has long been considered a channel of technology transfer. This paper draws from the World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys to provide a sample of 18 developing and emerging economies to investigate whether global value chains (GVCs) are a vehicle for the transfer of technology. It focuses on one specific channel for technology transfer, namely, the licensing of foreign technology. To control for the possible endogeneity of technology licensing, propensity score matching is combined with a difference-in-differences approach. The results show a positive effect of being involved in two-way trading on the licensing of foreign technology. Firms that become two-way traders are significantly more likely to use foreign-licensed technology than firms starting to export or import. This evidence suggests that the complexity associated with the mode of internationalisation determines the licensing of foreign technology. GVC participation also appears to foster firms’ performance, reflecting my findings that the acquisition of foreign technology leads to significant productivity improvements.

Technology Transfer Channels and Innovation Efficiency: Empirical Evidence From Chinese Manufacturing Industries

This article analyzes the effects of three channels of technology transfer—global value chain participation (GVCP), foreign technology import (FTI), and domestic technology purchase (DTP)—on innovation efficiency by using 11 years of data from Chinese manufacturing industries. Empirical results show FTI and GVCP significantly facilitate innovation efficiency, whereas DTP decreases it. Further, absorptive capacity (AC) positively moderates the relationship between FTI and innovation efficiency. Moreover, in the high-tech industry, we find that GVCP positively affects innovation efficiency, and AC positively moderates the effect of GVCP on innovation efficiency. This finding is informative from a strategic perspective as firms can make strategic decisions in the selection of technology transfer channels. In addition, firms may also absorb and apply external technologies while developing AC to improve enterprises' ability according to their own organizational and strategic contexts in order to achieve and maintain competitive advantages. This finding provides convincing empirical evidence on the relationship between technology transfer channels and innovation efficiency and valuable lessons to other developing countries for the selection of technology transfer channels.