Influencing Technology Transfer Research Articles

What drives Chinese technology imports into Africa? A regional perspective

Motives: The factors that affect technology imports from China have never been examined in the literature, and this study was undertaken to fill in this knowledge gap. The factors that drive high-tech imports from China to Africa, including those that negatively impact imports, were identified. The results can be used to implement changes in the trade strategies of African countries, including industry 4.0 strategies or trade agreements with China, and to influence the behavior of companies importing high-tech from China.Aim: The primary goal is to identify the factors that influence technology transfer, in particular the transfer of electronic and electrical technologies, in the areas of high-tech manufacturing. The second goal is to determine whether these factors have equal strength and direction of influence on different streams of technology transfer.Results: The study demonstrated that both economic and geographical factors influence technology transfer, defined as two streams of high-tech manufactures: electronic and electrical, as well as other high-tech manufactures. However, the two import streams behaved differently, and different factors affected Chinese imports into Africa.

Technology Transfer and Everyday Life among Smallholder Farmers: Notes on the Small Inconveniences that Slow the Transition to Industrial Agriculture in Ethiopia

Abstract Global technology transfers reshape agriculture with profound influences on everyday life. Substantial research has documented broader constraints that influence technology transfer among farmers, yet existing theories give us a narrow view into how wider dynamics manifest in everyday life. Using tractor farming in Ethiopia as a case study with ethnographic and historical data, we contribute an account of the everyday social and ecological interactions that shape agricultural technology transfer as well as the wider historical context in which these practices play out. Historically, we find an uneven transition that faltered repeatedly over 50 years. Ethnographically, we identify three types of interplays between actors and the local ecology that shaped the ways that faltering technology transfer actually plays out on the ground: (1) socio-ecological frictions; (2) communicative frictions; and (3) status-based frictions. This study contributes a humanistic account of how farmers and local technology providers experience technology transfers.

Factors Influencing Technology Transfer in Companies at Emerging Economies

One of the ways how to catch up with developed countries is through innovation. Companies can develop innovation in-house, but it has been determined that a more efficient approach is to acquire new knowledge and technology from external parties. In the meantime, relatively few companies choose to cooperate, therefore the aim of this research is to identify the key factors that need to be addressed in order to facilitate new knowledge and technology acquisition. In a systematic literature review, the scientific literature on technology transfer has been analysed, which determines an existing lack of holistic approach on the different impact of factors. Therefore, in this article, through the analysis of different sources, the innovation and technology transfer affecting factors have been summarised. The empirical research is based on a survey of sixty-five companies that hypothetically work with the technology transfer. Besides, an interrelationship analysis of the technology acquisition affecting factors was carried out. The research results indicate that acquisition of new knowledge and technology is closely linked with the internal research and development (R&D) work and presence in a foreign market, as well as indirectly with the fact whether the company is a part of a group. In the final of the article, the acquired results and their implications have been explained.

The Interplay of Licensing and Technology Transfer Office Staff Experience

Addressing the knowledge gap regarding individual level factors influencing technology transfer outputs, we focus on three dimensions of successful licensing at university technology transfer offices: speed, efficiency and total generated revenue. Our aim is to test factors connected to IP Coordinators’ experience, which is conceptualized multi-dimensional. We employ data from administrative records of a Japanese university including 849 transfer cases for the period from 1998 to 2016. By focusing on coordinators’ experience, i.e. of time, scope and networks, we detect several coordinators’ characteristics that play a significant role. Results from regression analysis show that all three measures have a significant impact on the speed and efficiency of technology transfer, but not on revenue generation.

Technology transfer, climate change mitigation, and environmental patent impact on sustainability and economic growth: A comparison of European countries

Most of the literature on technology transfer has tended to focus on the country or regional level, neglecting to look at the continent-level flow of knowledge that is becoming more important due to regional trading blocs. This study sought to fill the gap in research on the role of technology transfer in the European continent (i.e., countries inside and outside the Eurozone) by focusing on environment-related patents. The research also included examining the effects of environmental water-related adaptation technology and climate change mitigation patents on real gross domestic product. The results contribute to the literature on technology transfer policies by highlighting how environmental patents influence Europe’s economic growth rate and whether countries’ geographical location can affect their level of entrepreneurship and innovation. The technology-organization-environment (TOE) and sustainability perspectives were used as a theoretical framework for understanding how geographical contexts influence technology transfer in terms of environment-related patents. Implications for management, theory and policy are discussed together with the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research.

Exploring factors influencing technology transfer capability: Constructing a model through grounded theory

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative research is to explore a conceptualization of factors that influence technology transfer capability. It identifies what and how factors perceived by expert participants impact technology transfer. Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty participants, who are experts in the field of technology management from top food enterprises, were analysed using grounded theory methodology to categorize concepts and conceptualize a provisional model. NVivo software application was used for qualitative data analysis. The study results identify organizational, departmental and environmental factors that impact technology transfer capability. Seven main themes emerged relating to: (1) new technology identification, acquisition and implementation ability; (2) research and development (R&D) ability; and (3) external environment. The data also clearly illustrate how these factors work in the food industry context and provide a foundation for developing a theoretical framework. The article provides implications for the development of a more complete model of determinants of technology transfer capability for firm owners, policy-makers and technology managers to develop more sustainable strategies to boost firms’ technology transfer and enhance competitive advantage. This article fulfills an identified need to study technology transfer capability and fills a literature gap in technology management by a qualitative study of industry experts.

An empirical study on factors influencing technology transfer using structural equation modelling

This paper aims to determine the factors influencing technology transfer (TT) in an empirical study using structural equation modelling (SEM). A sample of 100 experts working in the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) as empirical study is randomly selected. The data are collected through the questionnaire and then analysed using LISREL software. Results show that law and policy, companies' capabilities, skilled human resource, localisation of technology, and characteristics of technology significantly influence on the technology transfer. In addition, it is shown that the highest correlation is between companies' capabilities and technology transfer. Fit indices show that the model has an appropriate fit. In general, building and strengthening law and policy, companies' capabilities, skilled human resource and localisation of technology could suitably improve the technology transfer.

Factors Influencing Technology Transfer for Sustainable Construction Management in Nigeria

The move to embrace sustainable building is an international paradigm with the desire for sustainable development in society. Developing countries, however, are the most susceptible regions to unsustainable development. This study focused on factors influencing Technology Transfer in Construction Management in Nigeria. Questionnaires were applied to collect primary data. A total of 55 registered architectures, quantity surveyors and engineers were interviewed. The data were analyzed and both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied in the study. The findings show that research on sustainability and involvement of stakeholders influence the success of technology transfer. These findings have managerial implications on technology transfer to attain sustained development in the construction industry for many developing countries.

Intermediate institutions and technology transfer in developing countries: The case of the construction industry in Ghana

There has been an emerging view that the quality of state institutions can influence technology transfer in host countries. The bulk of such studies have ignored the role of intermediate institutions which bridge government and industry. We compare academic and local expert views of how technology and knowledge (T&K) transfer could be enhanced in the developing world, taking the Ghanaian construction industry as an exemplar. The academic argument that the development of strong intermediate institutions is likely to improve T&K policy and practice is explicated. We then investigate expert perceptions of the industry's T&K transfer problems and their proposed solutions. Their views confirm, but also develop and nuance academic research by suggesting that certain types of intermediate institutions have a more significant role to play than others.

An Empirical Analysis of Technology Transfer of National R&D Projects in South Korea

This study is aimed at seeking policy implications for the policy makers of South Korean government and finding a direction to support R&D institutions in performing R&D activities more efficiently, by analyzing the factors influencing technology transfer of the national R&D projects. The data retrieved from NTIS (National Science & Technology Information Service) was used in analyzing the results of 575 projects with 1,903 cases of technology transfer, performed by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, between 2002 and 2012. We found that there were significant differences between the government funded institutions and the universities and between basic R&D and applied ones. We also discovered that the government funded institutions did not necessarily take a better position than the universities in terms of the quantity of technology transfer. Lastly, the applied R&D of the universities was very vulnerable in terms of technology transfer.

Assessment and Dynamic Modeling of the Size of Technology Transfer

The size of technology imports and exports as well as the share of technology-based industries in the labor force are important means that can be utilized to assess the level of technology transfer in an economy. This paper reviews and discusses, within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) context, factors of technology transfer, exports and imports of technology products, outlining strengths and weaknesses. The annual size of imports, exports, and trade balance of technology products is further used to describe trend and make predictions and forecasts of the level of technology transfer. Using official trade data spanning the period from 1981 to 2013, the state-space methodology is utilized to handle the dynamic time series models and to study the developments of the state over time. Employing the Kalman filter, within the state-space framework, necessary estimation and forecasts are made. UAE strengths and weaknesses in terms of factors influencing technology transfer are discussed. Evidence suggests increasing domestic demand for technology products, insufficient domestic production, and increasing dependency on technology imports. Despite recent growth in UAE technology industries, the huge deficit in technology products trade balance indicates a negative trend in technology transfer. Policy implications are highlighted including the need for quality education, effective diffusion and internal transfer and generation of technology.

Factors that Influence the Dissemination of Knowledge in Technology Transfer among Malaysian Manufacturing Employees

The meaning of technology transfer is so wide but mostly involving some form of technology-related exchange. However, in this particular paper, technology transfer is consider as a concept to examine the process of disseminating knowledge and skills that a person owned to another person in order to generate higher productivity with new approach of producing a particular product or service. Although, many researchers have explored the evolution of technology transfer, nonetheless some drivers are yet to be explored in a Malaysian manufacturing industry. This study, therefore attempts to determine the relationship between absorptive capacity, transfer capacity, communication motivation and learning intent and technology transfer performance. A survey methodology was used in a Japanese multinational company based in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A total of 117 questionnaires were received. Results show that absorptive capacity is the most significant to influence technology transfer performance. Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE Key words: Technology transfer, absorptive capacity, Malaysia. Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE

On the role of alliance management capability, organizational compatibility, and interaction quality in interorganizational technology transfer

Interorganizational technology transfer (ITT) is a key component of firms' innovation processes. ITT involves purposeful, goal-oriented interactions between two or more organizations to exchange technological knowledge and/or artifacts and rights. Using the relational view, this study develops and empirically tests a research framework that incorporates key factors of technology transfer success to answer three questions: (1) How do various managerial routines and procedures that as a whole reflect a firm's alliance management capability influence interaction quality in ITT? (2) How does interaction quality in turn influence technology transfer success? (3) Which configurations of organizational and interactional factors contribute to technology transfer success? By examining the causal chain from alliance management capability through interorganizational interaction quality to technology transfer success, this study explains linkages between important antecedents and consequences of interaction quality and thus contributes to a better understanding of the interorganizational exchange processes that determine technology transfer success.

University Technology Transfer Through Entrepreneurship: Faculty and Students in Spinoffs

Spinoffs play a critical role in moving early-stage technologies that are developed in universities to the market. This study offers a thorough analysis of the university spinoff development process, focusing in particular on student involvement in the initial phases of these technology commercialization efforts and on the impact of the larger university ecosystem.Prior research examining technology transfer and entrepreneurship in universities has neglected the important role student entrepreneurship plays in the technology transfer process (Grimaldi, Kenney, Siegel, and Wright, 2011). Our study of university commercialization efforts suggests that graduate and post-doctoral students are critical participants in university spinoffs, and we offer an in-depth examination of their roles, focusing on the preliminary stages of spinoffs initiated by faculty and students. Our research led to a typology of spinoff development with four pathways, based on the varying functions of faculty, experienced entrepreneurs, PhD/post-doctoral students, and business students. This typology provides insight into the diverse responsibilities of students and faculty in the technology commercialization process, the different relationships between students, faculty, and entrepreneurs that can lead to successful spinoff creation, and the relative strengths and weaknesses of each arrangement.We also found that the larger university ecosystem has a significant impact on technology transfer. Prior research on this topic suggests that the university technology transfer office (TTO) (e.g., Colyvas, et al., 2002; Jain and George, 2007) and the university’s commercialization policies (e.g., Di Gregorio and Shane, 2003; Goldfarb and Henrekson, 2003) are the key institutional mechanisms influencing technology transfer. The implicit assumption is that a capable technology transfer office with effective policies and a strong incentive system will lead to successful commercialization. In this study, we seek to broaden this perspective, suggesting that the overall ecosystem at a university and a broad range of practices are important aspects of efforts to facilitate technology transfer. We consider the scope of university programs and practices that may have an influence on this process.

Government IT strategy and technology transfer in Korea

In 2004, the Korean government announced an ambitious IT strategy to establish Korea as one of the leaders in the world IT market. To implement this strategy, technology transfer from research laboratory to market should be successfully performed. This study is to identify factors influencing technology transfer and to examine the contribution of these factors on success of technology transfer in Korea. Survey results show that technology project leaders evaluated 'incentives for transfer' as the most influential factor, followed by 'sense of common purpose', 'person-to-person contacts', 'concreteness of technology', 'understanding of nature of business' and 'awareness of transfer'. Out of 120 technology transfer projects, respondents rated 44 projects as a success and 40 as a failure. Thus, the success rate of technology transfer in the IT industry is reported as 36.67%. Regression analysis identifies that 'person-to-person contacts', 'concreteness of technology', 'variety of communication channels', 'programmes' and 'collaborative research' are statistically significant in explaining the success of technology transfer.

Technology transfer for rural housing

PurposeTechnological intervention for housing construction in rural areas in India is very low. The purpose of this paper is to understand the mutual influences of the variables influencing technology transfer in the rural housing sector.Design/methodology/approachUsing interpretive structural modeling, the research presents a hierarchy‐based model and the mutual relationships among the variables of innovative and cost‐effective technology transfer.FindingsThe outcome of the research is a framework for technology transfer in rural India. The research shows that there exists a group of variables having a high driving power and low dependence requiring maximum attention. Another group consists of those variables which have high dependence and are the resultant actions.Practical implicationsThis framework provides a useful tool to understand the mutual relationships among different variables in effective technology transfer.Originality/valuePresentation of variables in a hierarchy and the classification into driver and dependent categories is unique in the area of technology transfer in the rural housing sector.

Technology transfer in the IT industry: A Korean perspective

Recently Korean Government announced ambitious IT strategy to establish Korea as one of leaders in world IT market. To implement this strategy, technology transfer from research lab to market should be successfully performed. This study is to identify factors influencing technology transfer and to examine contribution of these factors on success of technology transfer in Korean IT industry. Survey results show that technology project leaders evaluated “Concreteness of Technology” as the most influential factor for technology transfer, followed by “Communication Channels,” “Collaboration among Participants,” “Management Support,” “Government Support,” and “Incentives for Transfer.” Out of 135 technology transfer projects, respondents rated 33 projects as sustaining (28.44%), 38 as promoting (28.15%), 26 as demonstrating (19.26%), 27 in incubating (20.00%), and the remaining 7 in imaging stage (8.15%). This statistics means that 28.15% of technology transfer projects did not reach production stage. Regression analysis identifies that “Communication Channels,” “Management Support,” “Concreteness of Technology” “Sense of Common Purpose,” and “Awareness of Technology Transfer” were statistically significant in explaining success of technology transfer.

Role of Persons with a Disability in the Design Process

People with disabilities are profoundly affected by what is built around and for them, yet far too often they are not consulted during the various phases of a product’s life cycle. People with disabilities need to be strong self-advocates and demand relevance to ensure that researchers ask the right questions and that engineers and designers develop products that will meet their needs. This article discusses the need for consumer involvement in all aspects of the design process, from initial concept to research and development and to influencing technology transfer and marketing.

Predicting technology transfer from data in research on technology development

Neither the average effectiveness nor the variations of technology in transfer applications can be adequately estimated directly from performance data in standard research studies designed to develop technology or to "prove" its suitability for markets. The characteristics of the adopter and the situation to which the technology is transferred affect the estimates of outcomes most likely to be observed. A statistical procedure – generalisability analysis – is presented that can be used with various development or qualifying research to estimate variance associated with various factors that might influence technology transfer. By combining these variance estimates with known characteristics of specific applications, adopters of technology can estimate likely effects and their variance when applying technology. The use of generalisability analysis to estimate components of variance in technology transfer is illustrated with data from a study involving the fabrication of temporary crowns in dentistry. A three-factorial, fully crossed, random effects model was tested with a range of user skill values and two values on a technology and situational factors (U × T × S). It is shown in this case that the user contributes the largest amount of expected variance in normal transfer applications, followed by the interaction between the user and technology, complex interactions and error, and technology. It is demonstrated how regressions analysis and confidence intervals partitioned by expected sources of variance can be used to estimate the most likely results of technology transfer to various application contexts based on data provided in technology development or qualification studies. General observations about the nature of technology transfer are also offered.

Being Different: How Normative and Cognitive Aspects of Institutional Environments Influence Technology Transfer

This article provides a novel perspective on technology transfer by arguing that incorporation of a new technology into an organization may require it to become different in more ways than existing research would have us believe. This is especially true when host and home organizations are based in two widely different institutional environments. Because institutional pressures exert themselves on organizational behavior from both outside and inside the organization, they are critical in determining whether the transfer process is successful. Borrowing from institutional theory, the institutional environment of an organization is divided into regulative, normative and cognitive aspects. It is argued that, although less obvious in their influence, normative and cognitive institutions are no less important than the relatively more visible regulatory institutions. This article discusses how normative and cognitive aspects of the institutional environment affect international technology transfer and offers propositions as well as implications for researchers and managers. Although the insights developed in this article are applicable to any instance of technology transfer, they are more salient in cases where technology is transferred internationally. Also, the propositions developed here are probably more relevant in cases where ‘process-embodied’ technologies are being transferred.