What are the three phases of technology transfer?
Technology transfer consists of three phases:
preparation,
installation and
utilization.
These three phases are influenced by three types of factors: technological, organizational, and environmental. The combination of activities with factors enables an integrated view on international technology transfer. We found that the amount of technology, the accuracy of the information, and the extent of organizational and environmental differences have a large impact on the efficiency of the technology transfer process.
The combination of activities with factors enables an integrated view of international technology transfer. The amount of technology, the accuracy of the information, and the extent of organizational and environmental differences have a large impact on the efficiency of the technology transfer process.
During the preparation phase, the companies are involved in a dialogue where they estimate and decide on the type of technology that will be transferred, how to schedule it, the monies involved et cetera. When this phase is completed, the next phase starts. During the installation phase activities are undertaken to set up technology at the DC(Destination Company). Part, or all, of the technology at the DC will be an exact copy of the technology at the SC(Source Company). The installation phase ends with the successful production of the first unit of the product. Then follows the utilization phase. The production technology is now fully installed at the DC and continuous production takes place.
The preparation phase has four activities: an exploration of opportunities, developing a proposal, reaching an agreement, and developing a project plan. The order of the activities in the preparation phase depends on the type of technology transfer. If there are several potential DCs, then a formal proposal will be made. If the project plan involves elements that are specified in the contract, for example, delivery of parts on specific dates coupled with payment, then the project plan and the contract development will occur simultaneously. If the management of DC is considered highly competent by the SC, then DC will develop the detailed project plan after the agreement is reached. Otherwise, the SC will develop the project plan before the agreement is reached.
The installation phase contains seven groups of activities related to transferring the production technology components: transferring forward from the SC to the DC, bringing human resources up to the required level at the DC, translating and processing the forward at the DC, bringing the technical resources up to the required level at the DC, assuring production inputs at the DC, producing and inspecting the first article (batch) at the DC, and delivering the first product (batch) to the customer. The most important factors in the installation phase are the efficiency of the DC organization, the appropriateness of the informative resources, the sophistication and reliability of related industries in the destination country, and the approval procedures in the aircraft industry.
The utilization phase has three activities: managing the production by DC, dealing with technical queries by both companies, and managing the production network by the SC. These activities occur simultaneously. The most important factors in the utilization phase are the efficiency of the DC, the appropriateness of the informative resources and, related to this, the priority of the SC and the local communication infrastructure in the destination country, the level of related industries in the destination country, any decision to change from dual to single source by the SC, and the market demand for the product.
