Συγκριτική αξιολόγηση στη μεταφορά τεχνολογίας

Abstract

The dynamic nature of today's global marketplace places a premium on a firm's ability to anticipate and to respond to both customer needs and changing competitive pressures. It is then a matter of knowledge finding, transferring and cultivating, in order to stay competitive and active in an ever-changing environment. In an era when organizations are trying to catch up with global competition, benchmarking has been gaining attention among managers and academics as means of strengthening a company’s ability to compete. Benchmarking has been defined as the search for industry best practices that will lead to superior performance. This definition has been coined by Robert Camp, who first wrote a book on the subject based on his experience at Xerox Corporation in the USA. On the other hand, in most economies, technology policy has sought to bring the worlds of scientific and commercially oriented research closer together. New technologies that need to be tracked, developed, evaluated, transferred, or elsewhere managed by the company have become more numerous, as have their potential sources. Effective acquisition and utilization of new technology from an outside source can contribute greatly to the operational success of a firm, though acquiring and assimilating new product and process technologies is often quite difficult. To have a successful startup and result when transferring technology or, in a more general sense knowledge, not only must its elements be properly selected, but also the implementation process must be carefully planned out. All the above, when following world class practices, consist steps of a benchmarking methodology, which if properly implied will contribute so, that the technology transfer will finally lead to competitive advantage for both the donor and the recipient, which is eventually the ultimate purpose of benchmarking. Accordingly, this thesis aims to contribute to the technology transfer literature by developing a conceptual framework of effective benchmarking the technology transfer at the whole project level. The conceptual framework captures the nature of the technology to be transferred, the activities and interactions across organization boundaries, and contingent relationships between technology and organization, searching for the "best practice" in every step, action and best management approaches for transferring a technology from or into an organization. Technology transfer is an inherently multidimensional task characterized by complex and interrelated relationships among many variables. This multidimensionality and multivariate complexity is explicitly considered in the development of the model. The study is based on literature review and the scope is the creation of a methodology for implementing benchmarking in technology transfer. Sections I and II provide useful knowledge on Benchmarking and Technology Transfer theories, in order: => for both concepts to be well presented and understood => gaps, limitations and obstacles to be mentioned => possible contributions and interactions to be set in question. Section III presents the proposed methodology on technology transfer benchmarking, expected benefits, prospective problems and limitations, as well as success factors, marking the fact that the methodology needs testing and implementation, in order for real problems and critical success factors to emerge. The need for further study on theoretical consolidation with new definitions, efficient techniques, methods and tools is stressed and theorists and practitioners are welcomed to structure this new branch of benchmarking with experimental work and case studies. Section IV deals with benchmarking and technology transfer in EU. Short reports on the industry - science relations for representative countries of EU, USA and Japan, broaden the reader's view on aspects concerning technology transfer, mechanisms and channels, as they occur round the world. The reference to current EU programs prepares the climate for a new framework proposal, regarding the benchmarking in technology transfer, which will be part of Chapter VI. A special reference to SMEs states the specific problems that they confront, because of their size and potential, when seeking to benchmark or transfer technology. Solutions and political interventions are proposed, especially when implementing technology transfer benchmarking. Finally, there is an acquaintance with moral, legal and financial aspects of benchmarking. Section V presents case studies from the areas of benchmarking and technology transfer, since no case has been found in literature to deal with benchmarking in technology transfer. The cases are selected to show the unlimited possibilities and the potential of benchmarking, as well as the pitfalls, problems and unexpected difficulties that arise in technology transfer processes, even when transfer agents are used. The aim is to mark out the necessity of technology transfer benchmarking. The thesis ends with conclusions and recommendations. The thesis addresses the question of involving benchmarking in technology transfer and how benchmarking can promote and ameliorate the transfer of technology. In the emerging economic and social environment, where knowledge, its use and exploitation will be the key to competitiveness, the interaction of knowledge generators and users will be critical for success and cannot be deserted to lack or even common thinking.