University Technology Transfer: Do Incentives, Management, and Location Matter?

University technology transfer activities are increasingly important as a source of regional economic development and revenue for the university. We use regression analysis, a two-stage model and the most recent data to examine the determinants of technology transfer. Our analysis strongly support four factors, not previously examined in the literature, enhancing university technology transfer: greater rewards for faculty involvement in technology transfer, location of the university in a region with a concentration of high technology firms, a clear university mission in support of technology transfer and the experience of the university's technology transfer office.     

The Location of Multinationals in Industrial Districts: Knowledge Transfer in Biomedicals

In order to access and exploit knowledge, MNCs are induced to make FDI in technological districts. It occurs in a two-step process: first joint venture and then acquisition. This perspective is consistent with the evolutionary theory of multinational corporations, which looks at technology transfer as a sound rationale for FDI. The location strategy of multinationals produces a reorganization of district structure and a change in its evolutionary pattern: MNCs become catalysts, bring in new finance, ideas and managerial practices, open the district to external markets and international flows of technology. Biomedical Valley in Italy is a recent high-tech district that fits this picture well. It demonstrates that the rationale for FDI was not wage differentials with parent countries, but rather local knowledge and innovation. Knowledge transfer through subcontractors diffuses and recombines inside the district in two ways: becoming the medium for the dissemination of new codes, procedures and knowledge within the district, and evolving from the role of subcontractors to that of independent producers of final products. The case of biomedical district also induces changes of a number of stereotypes and common beliefs about industrial districts and MNCs.     

New Approaches to Technology Transfer from Publicly Funded Research

The conventional wisdom is that American universities transfer technologies more rapidly and more effectively than their European counterparts. While this appears to be true, it is important to note that there are substantial cultural, legal, and regulatory differences between the two regions, and even within Europe. We believe that European universities can enhance their effectiveness in technology transfer if this function is given more visibility and prestige, enhanced public support, and formal procedures are implemented to facilitate benchmarking. In this paper, we examine some of the differences in university technology transfer in Europe and the U.S., and discuss these new approaches, which have recently been fully supported by the European Commission.     

Technology Transfer to China The Issues of Knowledge and Learning

The aspect of effectiveness of technology transfer to developing countries still raises important questions from researchers and practitioners alike. Many of these questions pertain to the nature of knowledge and of the learning process. The first question for this paper is what forms of knowledge are transferred abroad by companies. The second question is what are the characteristics of the learning process in recipient firms during technology transfer. Twenty-eight Canadian manufacturing firms were interviewed. Seven case studies were also conducted in China.Our results demonstrate that tacit knowledge constitutes a substantial part of the total knowledge transferred by Canadian firms to China. The nonexplicit nature of knowledge leaves room for numerous problems of interpretation, not only at the technical and managerial level, but also at the more global level of national culture and institutions. Our findings tend to validate the evolutionary and cognitivistic positions on the nature of knowledge. The results also partly confirm our sequential model of learning.     

The Future of Empirical Research in Bioethics

Good empirical research is essential to providing sound answers about the facts of the matter, thereby informing bioethical theory and policy. Nevertheless, relatively few topics have been addressed adequately and the most powerful methods have not been exploited to maximize the potential contribution of this work to the field.     

Entrepreneurship and University Technology Transfer

This paper argues that it is important to devote greater attention to the study of entrepreneurship in technology transfer in the light of greater government attention, the growth in the phenomenon, the need to identify how wealth can be created from spin-outs, changes in the cultures of universities and differences with technological entrepreneurship in general. The paper summarizes the contributions made by the papers presented in the special issue in terms of their levels of analysis. At the spin-out level, issues are raised concerning identification of typologies of spin-out firms, the evolution of spin-outs and external resources. At the university level, issues concerning policies, internal resources and processes are discussed. An agenda for further research is elaborated which relates to the need to examine further levels of analysis: the academic entrepreneurs themselves and how they recognize opportunities and shape their ideas to meet the market; the nature of internal university environments, processes and resources; and the nature of the scientific discipline which may have implications for the process of creation and development of spin-out ventures.     

Limited Liability Companies and Technology Transfer

This paper provides an introduction to a new organizational form of business in the United States, the Limited Liability Company (LLC), and explores the potential use of LLCs for technology-transfer arrangements. Favorable characteristics of LLCs are limited liability for all equity holders, avoidance of corporate double taxation, flexibility of organizational form and distributions of profit, and few restrictions on membership. An unfavorable characteristic is that shares in an LLC cannot be publicly traded. The paper argues that, overall, the LLC form promotes certain types of strategic alliances, including those dealing with technology transfer. In particular, LLC characteristics lend themselves well to strategic alliances that form to share risk, exploit complementary assets, reduce transactions costs, overcome investment barriers, exchange technology, speed innovation and development, and make international expansions. The paper also points out why technology-transfer arrangements can and will continue to take on other forms as well.     

Technology and Technology Transfer: Mansfieldian Inspirations and Subsequent Developments

This paper discusses the foundational work and ideas of Edwin Mansfield to the economics of technological change and innovation, and introduces some of the recent work in the field. I argue that much of the recent work on patenting, technology strategy and the economics of knowledge has roots to the early Mansfield contributions, and that he should be recognized as a pioneer for these recent developments.     

Development of a Technology Readiness Assessment Measure: The Cloverleaf Model of Technology Transfer

Successful technology transfer begins with the identification of appropriate candidate technologies for transfer. Technology transfer managers have few reliable tools to guide the process of determining when and which technologies are likely to be successful in the commercialization process. This paper describes a multi-stage process which incorporated ideas from the literature, materials in use, pretesting of a model, and the collective wisdom of practitioners to devise a technology transfer readiness tool, dubbed the Cloverleaf Model Tool for Technology Transfer Assessment, because of its identification of the four requirements for success. The tool has been customized for different environments. It can be used over time to compare technologies and adapted to the unique situation of users.     

论技术转让合同中的技术改进条款

技术改进条款是技术转让合同的重要条款,它直接涉及双方当事人的权益,特别是关系到受方技术自主创新能力的提高。在合同中当事人需约定改进之含义及改进范围;并针对不同的情况,如涉及与方法或产品有关的发明改进。或与可专利客体相关的改进等,合同要对改进范围作出明确的约定。我国企业在技术转让合同中对改进条款的内容均有不同程度的忽视,这直接关系到技术引进、消化、吸收、再创新目标的实现;为此,在我国已有的法律规定之基础上,企业应对改进条款给予关注,以期提升自主技术创新能力。     

技术转让与许可贸易中的谈判

技术转让是指拥有技术的一方通过某种方式将其技术出让给另一方使用的行为.物品转让是所有权的转让,与此不同,技术转让一般只是技术使用权的转让.一件物品只能完整地转让给一个对方,原物主也将因转让而丧失对该物的所有权.而一项技术可同时完整地转让给多个对方,且原有技术的持有者并不因转让而失去对该技术的所有权.     

A Rich Vision of Technology Transfer Technology Value Management

This paper considers technology transfer from a holistic perspective, defining and integrating all essential elements. Technology, technology ownership, and technology transfer are defined to enable practical management of the value of technology as an organizational asset. Concepts from value-chain movement of technology in commercial product development are used to develop a complete, detailed vision of technology transfer across corporate boundaries. Lessons enable development of a productive technology-transfer function that will speed evolution of technology to product and enable creation of new wealth.     

The State of the Science in Technology Transfer: Implications for the Field of Assistive Technology

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer (T²RERC) hosted a “State of the Science” conference in November, 2001. The conference reviewed technology transfer work within the field of assistive technology, and summarized related work in public, private and academic sectors. Invited speakers prepared papers on various topics concerning technology transfer, and related their findings to the field of assistive technology during the ensuing discussion sessions. This paper provides an overview of the material presented by the participants, and explores the implications of their findings for one particular field of application—assistive technology for people with disabilities.     

Barriers and Bridges for Successful Environmental Technology Transfer

Governmental policy, social factors, individual behavior, and technology play critical roles in improving the environment. The Department of Defense is not immune to these factors as its actions have, and will continue, to impact its operational environments.This research analyzes the technological aspect of improving environmental conditions. Of particular interest, are the barriers encountered when laboratories transfer environmental technology to an end-user, and the bridges used to mitigate these barriers. A case study methodology is utilized analyzing five environmental technology transfers within the U.S. Air Force.Several key barriers and bridges are specific to the transfer of environmental technologies. They include environmental regulatory agency oversight, difficulty in clearly defining the end-user, and the need to demonstrate technologies to potential end-users. However, many barriers and bridges encountered in the environmental technology transfer, are also encountered in the transfer of other technologies. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided for improving the environmental technology transfer process.     

Analysis and Classification of Problem Statements in Technology Transfer

For many years, the U.S. Government has encouraged the transfer of technologies developed through taxpayer funded endeavors to the commercial sector of the U.S. economy. The Regional Technology Applications Board, based at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, is an organization with technology transfer responsibilities. The Board receives technology transfer assistance (TTA) requests from many private-sector firms. The Board relies heavily on a problem statement from the requestor of technology assistance in determining an appropriate solution to the requestor's needs. However, the problem statements contained in these requests are often vague, ambiguous, or repetitive. This study reports on a method developed to analyze and classify problem statements that have been received by the Board so that additional understanding of the nature of these problems is obtained. One thousand one hundred past problem statements were analyzed using a content analysis method. The hierarchical classification structure developed during this project includes classes, sub-classes, and sub-sub-classes, allowing for differentiation of problem statements based upon key elements contained within the statements. Previously, no method for analysis and classification of problem statements had been documented. The results of the study indicate that problem statements can be analyzed and classified. The problem statement classification structure created through this project provides a vehicle for problem statement assignment, thereby lending additional form to the problem definition process. The study also provides an understanding of the frequency and distribution of TTA problem statements received by the Board.     

Types of Knowledge and Their Roles in Technology Transfer

At the dawn of a new millennium, the most valuable global commodity is knowledge, particularly new knowledge about technology that may give a culture, a company and/or a laboratory an advantage. This paper begins with examples of tacit technology transfer, including atomic weapons technology, whose development suggests that failure to preserve tacit knowledge could lead to uninvention. This discussion is followed by a taxonomy of knowledge, distinguishing between four types--information, skills, judgement and wisdom. These types are used to refine the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge, including their role in teams.     

Technology Transfer: A Contextual Approach

A corporation views effective technology transfer as a necessary element for successful operations. Politicians and Government agencies view technology transfer as critical to a competitive domestic economy. This paper compares and contrasts the technology transfer motives and methods of a corporation and a Government research and technology agency to analyze differences. The analysis reveals that the context, or environment, and the motives of the particular organizational level both reflect the method of technology transfer employed. Motives are not necessarily homogenous across organization levels. Therefore, the successful implementation of technology transfer depends upon creating an environment that will capitalize on the motives that exist at each level, and taking an approach that reflects those motives. The Government approach is to broadcast available technology, whereas that of the corporation is to control its release by targeting recipients. For more effective technology transfer, the Government approach should be augmented by a second stage that considers the individual employee's motivation. Therefore, on the basis of the findings, a two-stage approach to successful Government technology transfer is recommended.     

法律实证研究方法及其地点选择

法律实证研究区别于思辨研究,从形式上而言是走出书斋,奔向田野;从价值上而言是贵在发现问题.加之法律具有地方性知识的特点,因此实证研究的地点选择既重要又复杂.经典的观察个案由于当时较大程度地受到资讯、交通、经费等因素的制约,在地点选择上偶然性很大,需要综合考虑自然、经济、文化、人员、案件等诸多因素.