TRANSFER MODELS

The processes of delivery and reception take place in highly different structures. These depend on the intentions and the interest enforcement methods of – and the extent to which there is cooperation between – the players involved in the transfer, the donors and the recipients. Below, some models showing the relations between the players and demonstrating specialist transfer strategies will be presented (Figure 3 and Table 2). Familiarisation with the models is essential because initial transfers are always established in the frameworks of the simpler models, and after successful cooperation the adoption of more complex forms can begin. The experience gained in the transfers can provide a solid foundation for the conscious development of the embedding potentials of the receiving side, and through that awaken the force of attraction. This may result in the establishment of cooperation according to more complex models. This may provide a sound framework for more intensive interest enforcement by the receiving party, and for the development of the active position. The models to be presented also represent a historical development series, which may serve as an informative framework for the evaluation of transfers in Hungary in the past ten years.

Five models, which describe the behaviour of the players in the process, can be differentiated:

‘Contact building model’:

This model highlights the role of bridge-forming institutions which ensure that information flows between the sources and their users. These institutions form connections between the demand and supply sides by enabling the potential partners to find each other. Through

offering custom-made programmes, the bridge-forming institutions can also help the users discover the mechanisms which are suitable for them.

‘Diffusion model’:

This model concentrates on connecting appropriate technologies and diffusion potentials. It finds the players interested in ensuring an efficient division of labour during the various stages of research, development and adaptation. This model is also able to embrace more complex mechanisms and to make it possible for the receiving side to utilise its diffusion potentials more efficiently. The contact-building model is, first of all, useful for transfers which are occasional or just beginning. This is because it ensures cooperation between a small number of players in a transparent system. However, the diffusion model is also appropriate for mass, fast, spatially widely spread diffusion, where the presence and coordinated cooperation of a great number of players can be ensured on the recipient side. ‘Problem solving model’:

This model starts by accurately clarifying the requirements. It looks at the requirements as technology problems to be solved, and from this starts a problem solving process. In its framework, it arrives at the final solution through selecting the possibilities for adaptation from the range of potential solutions available. This logical system has an important element: it is not satisfied with a simple examination and assessment of the supply, but, in the course of selection, it also assesses the willingness of the donor to adapt. This way of thinking does not simplify transfer through a simple statement of the possible technologies offered, but regards the optimum possible satisfaction of the most fundamental demands as its main objective. In formulating the problem and searching for a solution, it relies on the active participation of the prospective recipient organisation. The model does not just provide simple commercial transactions, it also incorporates supplementary developments in order to ensure the complete satisfaction of the recipients’ demands. This latter feature may ensure the development of products and technologies which can meet the specialist demands of the local markets.

‘Action-oriented model’:

This model combines the elements of the process on the basis of economically established utility. This thinking starts from the fact that – in the lifecycle of every new product – a decisive moment will arrive which will be crucial for the active marketing of that product. This occurs under competitive conditions. The innovative diffuser enjoys an advantage in this competition if he can cooperate in the early stages of diffusion with companies which are willing to adapt. These companies should be prepared – or forced – to maintain their loyalty because of the contracts they have signed. This adaptation does not mean simply passing over and increasing mass, but it also includes ensuring improvements which match local requirements. It is not by chance that this model is common in the practice of international companies. The model is used primarily when the parent company (donor) has to cooperate with a recipient country and target market with a culture very different from that of the donor’s country (e.g. the European projects of Japanese companies, large US companies in African countries). Every company which thinks in terms of a global strategy has applied similar solutions in the early stages of its internationalisation.

Source: Szakaly (2001, 2009) Figure 3

Technology transfers models Table 1

Comparison of technology transfer models

The model is based on Knowledge exchange, including feedback. Today it is becoming more and more prevalent (Figure 4).

Source: Szakaly(2001, 2009) Figure 4

Model built on knowledge exchange ‘Model built on knowledge exchange’:

In this model, the donor consciously monitors – in a pre-planned manner – the efforts of the recipient party that are aimed at improvement. The donor will also encourage and assist such efforts. In order to compensate for the work and expenditure this process creates, transfers towards a third party are also supported. In addition, the donor takes on these development results and, after appropriate analysis, builds them into its own new programmes.

In the new transfer cycles, it then becomes possible to disseminate these new advances globally. This model can be clearly identified in transfers within international companies and in projects aimed at the transfer of means and methods of production. In the first case, the interpersonal relations within the companies and the off-site R+D departments are the driving forces of the process. In the second area, it is primarily the customer service organisations that do the necessary information collecting through their monitoring systems. This model is actually an efficient means for implementing external and internal ‘techno partition’, which is basically a conscious sharing and moving of knowledge, technology and resources between the appropriate transfer players while maintaining mutual benefits.

4. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AS A MEANS OF CREATING KNOWLEDGE