Technology transfer revisited from the perspective of the

Abstract

This contribution proposes a revised framework for understanding and analyzing the process of technology transfer in theperspective of the knowledge-based economy (KBE). The underlying hypothesis is that the context of the knowledge-based economy introduces a major shift in the way technology transfer is conceived. The traditional model of technology transfer was based on the vision of technology moving from one well-defined economic unit to another well-defined unit.We suggest that in the new perspective technology transfer is essentially considered as a specific knowledge-transfer process that depends on the ways firms and other institutions manage knowledge, in particular the co-evolution of their absorptive capabilities and their knowledge-transmission strategies. To support the theoretical analysis, we analyze the business case of Nortel Networks over the past 50 years. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Introduction

The objective of this article is to consider the broad managerial problem of technology transfer from the perspective of the knowledge-based economy (KBE), with specific emphasis on codification problems. The main hypothesis is that the new context of the KBE introduces a major shift in the way technology transfer is conceived. While, the traditional technology transfer model focused on a well-defined technology moving from one well-defined economic unit (firm department, lab, firm or country) to another well-defined economic unit, the KBE context suggests an entirely new technology transfer model. The pressure to develop and market technology faster, the blurring of the line between the production and the use of knowledge, and the blurring between intra- and inter-organizational transfer, which are among the KBE’s main characteristics, are a strong invitation to redefine the basic technology transfer model and to further analyze the contractual and organizational mechanisms that are the cornerstone of the efficiency of any such transfer.

We propose first to recall and map the traditional contexts of technology transfer, the underlying problems identified, and the different approaches developed to deal with the efficiency of transfers (part 2). 1 The concept of technology transfer has been used extensively by many disciplines to describe and analyze a wide range of technology issues. In management, technology transfer refers to “intentional, goal oriented interaction” (Autio and Laamanen, 1995) between two or more persons, groups or organizations

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