Determinants and catalysts in intrafirm technology transfer: Learning from case studies

The sharing of technological knowledge between firms or within the same firm is becoming essential to develop innovations. Although previous studies have investigated the determinants of technology transfer(TT), they have not pointed out the existence of catalysts, i.e. determinants that assume a more crucial role than others in making transfer effective, and which compensate for the weaknesses in other determinants. In this paper, from the analysis of transfer processes within three manufacturing multinationals, three catalysts have emerged: leadership by the top management, anticipated profitability from the adoption of the new technology, and the professionalism of centralized research and development staff.