Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Technology transfer'

A consecutive number of studies on the adoption trend of logistics technology since 1988 revealed that logistics organizations are not in the frontier when it comes to adopting new technology and this delayed adoption creates an information gap. In the advent of supply chain management and the strategic position of logistics, the need for accurate and timely information to accompany the logistics executives became more important than ever before. Given the integrative nature of logistics technology, failure to implement the technology successfully could result in writing off major investments in developing and implementing the technology or even in abandoning the strategic initiatives underpinned by these innovations. Consequently, the need to employ effective strategies and models to cope with these uncertainties is rather crucial. This thesis addresses the aspect of uncertainty in implementation success by process and factor research models. Process research approach focuses on the sequence of events in the technology transfer process that occurs over time. It explains the story that explains the degree of association between these sequences and implementation success. Through content analysis, this research gathers, extracts, and categorizes process data of actual stories of logistics technology adoption and implementations in organizations that are published in literature. The extracted event sequences are then analyzed using optimal matching from natural science and grouped using cluster analysis. Four patterns were revealed that organizations follow to transfer logistics technology namely, formal minimalist, mutual adaptation, development concerned, and organizational roles dispenser. Factors that contribute to successful implementation in each pattern were defined as the crucial and necessary events that characterized and differentiated each pattern from others. The factor approach identifies the potential predictors of successful technology implementation and tests empirical association between predictors and outcomes. This research develops a logistics technology success model. In developing the model, various streams of research were investigated including logistics, information systems, and organizational psychology. The model is tested using a questionnaire survey study. The data were collected from Australian companies which have recently adopted and implemented logistics technology. The results of a partial least squares structured equation modeling provide strong support for the model constructs and valuable insights to logistics/supply chain managers. The last study reports a convergent triangulation study using multiple case study of three Australian companies which have implemented logistics technology. A within and a cross case analysis of the three cases provide cross validation for the results of the other two studies. The results provided high predictive validity for the two models. Furthermore, the case study approach was so beneficial in explaining and contextualizing the linkages of the factor-based model and in confirming the importance of the crucial events in the process-based model. The thesis concludes with a research and managerial implications chapter which is devoted for logistics/supply chain managers and researchers.

There have been a number of studies which have attempted to identify factors affecting successful technology transfer. However, empirical studies of technology transfer, at the level of the user, have been a much neglected area of research despite numerous promptings. Too much attention has been paid to single factor explanations of success, although it is widely accepted that success is a multi-faceted phenomenon. There is also an absence of a suitable definition of success which reflects its multi-dimensional character. This research, therefore, attempts to develop a suitable multi-faceted measure for success and an identification of factors affecting success in the study of the user uptake phase of a technology transfer process; namely the introduction of cook chill technology into catering operations in the UK. A survey of 80 cook chill operations in the UK was undertaken and detailed information was collected from each. A multi-faceted measure of success was developed by using 10 carefully selected success criteria. Each cook chill operation in the sample was allocated a 'score' for each success factor. This process culminated in the formation of a 'success table' of cook chill operations in the sample which enabled the identification of those units which were the most successful and those which were the least successful throughout the technology transfer process. There were numerous differences between the activities of the successful group and those of the unsuccessful group throughout the initiation, implementation and assessment phases of the technology transfer process. The findings of this research, therefore support the notion of success as being multi-faceted. Some of the major factors seen to affect success included: management stability, the extent, quality and efficiency of precook chill development work, communication and involvement with employees and appropriate training, adherence to the technical requirements of the system and a research and development orientation. The overriding finding, however, was the tendency shown by the managers in the successful group to be proactive and those in the unsuccessful group to be reactive.

The concept of industry transferring work to academia is developed and studied using multiple cases at three different university research sites. Industry sometimes partners with academia specifically to have academia perform work with certain equipments or obtain knowledge for the purpose of process, product or knowledge development. The term "non-traditional" technology transfer is introduced to describe this activity. Case studies using research faculty and their students as well as industry partners were conducted at two Engineering Research Centers and an engineering department of a relatively smaller institution that has developed an engineering clinic approach to research. The literature drawn upon includes: historical perspectives of the academia-industry technology transfer arena (including the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980), trends, the relationship between academic capitalism and technology transfer and the role played by technology transfer in environmental research. Findings of this study indicate that industry has, in some cases, chosen to have their collaborative research team partners accomplish work for them. Access to resultant data is difficult to obtain and has implications for the concept of academic freedom. Advantages of the technology transfer process include the generation of value for each of the project partners, education of graduate and undergraduate students and benefits to the public good in terms of the environment; disadvantages are identified but considered uncertain. Technology transfer, including the non-traditional type defined herein, can be used as a tool to overcome the reality of today's austere university budget environment; the Bayh-Dole Act has served as an enabler of that approach.

International transfer of technology is the key element for the industrialisation and economic development of countries. But the success of any transfer depends on the judicious selection of appropriate technology from the right source and its effective absorption. This depends to a large extent on the selection, adaptation and assimilation capabilities of the recipient of the technology. In technology transfer, adaptation at the transferee end is an important stage. The difference between the technology levels of the transferor and transferee causes a technological gap which creates a potential for technology flow, but the transfer will depend on the assimilating capability of the transferee. In this study, a mathematical function that determines the technological level of a country is developed using the logistic growth pattern. The technological level of a country, in a given industry, is measured by an indicator called 'Technology Index' using the variables that influence and reflect the performance of that industry. The technology index is computed using the factor loadings obtained by the statistical technique factor analysis. In technology transfer, one of the most important problems facing countries is the selection of a transferor. Using the classical optimisation method, optimum transferors for various hypothetical transferees are determined in order to study the optimal partnership in technology transfer. A theoretical framework is provided for technological cooperation among the member countries of APEC based on the technology transfer model and classical optimisation method developed in this study. The theoretical framework can be applied to establish, for each industry, a technology cooperation network among the member countries by identifying the optimum partnership, that will provide an effective technology transfer process. Finally, based on the outcome of the research undertaken, conclusions are drawn and recommendations for further study presented
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The demands of managing in an international operating environment have changed considerably over the past 20 years due to developments in global markets. Multinational enterprises face fierce international competition and are now tasked not only with developing effective competitive capabilities but also with maximising the knowledge and expertise developed in one part of the organisation by transferring it to another. This work has investigated the position of multinational enterprises in the developing global market and through a broad and thorough review of current literature, identified a gap in the knowledge -a tool for helping the assessment of the transfer of technology prior to the transfer process taking place. Using existing models as a foundation, a new framework has been developed with observations from three case study organisations and the incorporation of other relevant literature. To -make use of the new framework to practitioners it leas been used as the basis of a workbook by which the anticipated difficulties can be judged and a priority focus developed. Validation of the 'r ework has been carried out by a panel of industrialists and academics experienced in international technology transfer. The thesis concludes with a series of recommendations for further work. The originality of this work lies in the development by the author of the new pre-transfer assessment Framework. This should provide clear advantages over previous approaches and give way to improving the success of technology transfer projects.

The aim of this project was to define the Technology Transfer Alliance (TTA), a nonprofit organization for Higher Education Institutions supporting capacity building in ICT and renewable energy through a project-driven learning. TTA is today still only an idea, waiting to be launched, which is why the goals for this bachelor thesis are to establish partnerships with institutions that will support the reaching of the goals of TTA, as well as providing a more solid definition of the functions of TTA, as to make the alliance more attracting for future partners. Functions include for example the project-driven framework that will serve as template for the educational process within TTA. To reach the goals with this project, several interviews were conducted with potential partners of TTA in African countries and other individuals that hold an expertise within the scope of this project. The interviews were meant to establish the expectations of TTA in terms of what a partnership would entail as well as to prelude discussions for which the potential partner would ultimately agree to sign a formal partnership agreement. The interviews also served as research about the open source solutions, which originally were developed by Master students at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and that will be focused on in futureTTA-projects. Ultimately were the goals of this project succeeded, in terms of defining the aim and functions of TTA. During the time frame of this project, vision and scope of TTA were set. This resulted in a restructuring of existing websites and in a production of an official partnership agreement, which entailsthe objectives of a partnership. The project resulted also resulted in that several African institutions expressed a great deal of interest of joining TTA as partners. Getting them to sign the partnership agreement will however be a task for future project teams to fulfill.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering; in conjunction with the Leaders for Manufacturing Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995.
Includes bibliographical references.
This thesis follows the transfer of a thin film from development to manufacturing. Problems of differences in equipment and differences in manufacturing methods were overcome to complete the transfer. The film was characterized using UV-Visible, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. Hydrogen forward scattering, surface bead angle, and atomic force microscopy were also employed. A series of experiments was conducted to: 1) Analyze the impact of deposition parameters on the performance of the film. 2) Match the performance of films produced in the manufacturing site to the performance of films produced in the development site. Both the development and manufacturing sites were acquired by a new company during the period of this transfer. The cultures of the development and manufacturing sites had not merged before this occurred. This fact, coupled with subsequent reorganization undertaken by the new management, has the potential to slow product introductions. The transfer of this film was successful despite the organizational upheaval occurring at the same time. Three factors contributed to this success: 1) The development engineer stayed with the process throughout the transfer to manufacturing. 2) The collaboration of upstream manufacturing steps integrated the new process with the existing line. 3) Early involvement of manufacturing speeded acceptance and lessened training costs. Recommendations to better link the manufacturing and technology development groups, based on observations made during work on the film transfer, are presented for management's consideration. Key among these is the establishment of common goals and the building of a communication infrastructure between the two sites.
by Brad Houston.
S.M.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
This work project’s objective is focused on developing a Technology Market Transfer for the implementation in an international market, France, of a Video Home Telephone Service which technology belongs to Zonadvanced, a company that works on a B2B Basis and aims at providing Telecommunications solutions for the B2C market. As a Management Masters student I have performed a complete analysis of the firm, product, and environment. The B2B market for the product is National Telecommunications Operators and the B2C market is people having Fixed Home Telephone. The competitors are other Telecommunications Devices that allow communication through Fixed Networks or Mobile Networks. The Core Service of the product is executed through software for Telephones. Zonadvanced should launch its product as a new Video Technology used to provide Free Telephone Calls to the User through advertisement revenues to satisfy the need of paying low Telephone bills to talk freely. The service is meant to satisfy the communication needs of people who want face-to-face communication through Video Calls. The last need is the informational one, services will be provided by a Virtual Portal. The Communication efforts were concentrated on the B2B perspective, a Pull Strategy will be used through Personal Selling. Zonadvanced will insure the Distribution of the product between its headquarters and the Telecommunications Operator headquarters. The pricing will be cost based. The Implementation will involve the settlement of headquarters in France, the product launch is scheduled for September 2009, and Payback will be reached 1 year and four months after the launch.

The acquisition of foreign technology is an imperative requisite for the economic and social progress of developing countries. However, the strong bargaining position of technology suppliers vis a vis technology acquirers unduly influences the terms and conditions under which technology is conveyed to developing countries and perpetuates their dependence on foreign sources of technology.
State intervention, through the enactment of technology transfer legislation, is a viable alternative for strengthening the acquirer's bargaining position, and thus obtaining technology under fair and equitable terms. Technology transfer policies must focus on the generation of indigenous technological capabilities, rather than on the mere importation of consumptive technology. In order to achieve their ultimate goals--social and economic progress and technological self-reliance, developing countries' governments must integrate these policies within concrete and long-term economic development programs.

Thesis (M.M.A.S.)--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, 1995.
Subject: Arms Transfer and the Preservation of the Defense Technological and Industrial Base (DTIB). Cover page date: June 1995. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

China's scientific development has gone through several phases over the past 50 years. In 1956, the first generation of leaders called on the whole country to "march towards science," drafting China's first scientific development plan. In 1978, the then Chinese leaders sponsored a national science conference and mapped out scientific development strategies for a new period of reform and opening-up policies. In 1985, the central government issued a "Decision on the Reform of Scientific and Technological Systems," with the aim of accelerating the application of technological discoveries to promote productivity. Since then, China has implemented a series of projects to spur the take-off of the rural economy. In 1995, at a national conference on science and technology, the Chinese leaders put forward the strategy of "revitalizing the country through science, technology and education." The central government listed this strategy along with the policy of sustainable development as the basic principles for China's long-term economic and social development. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis addresses the commercialization decisions of academic scientists. Although there is a great deal of research on environmental, university and individual determinants of the formal technology transfer mechanisms, this thesis addresses a gap in the literature by studying how technology characteristics affect the selection of university technology transfer mechanisms. For this purpose the insights from main theoretical sources were combined: a) the economics of technological change and b) the diffusion of innovations theory and a conceptual framework that considers eight characteristics of technology was developed. The technology characteristics derived from the two theoretical sources are: pervasiveness, tacitness, complexity, system dependence, relative advantage, compatibility, trialability and observability. These characteristics were then related to the choice of four technology transfer mechanisms by academic scientists. The study covers UK university scientists who have been involved in commercialization between 2005 and 2015. In the first stage, qualitative data were collected through 14 semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data analysis confirmed the predictive power of most factors in the conceptual framework and six new variables were also as potential predictors: patentability, inimitability, effectiveness of patents for the technology, capital intensity, independence, and technology dynamism. In the second phase, a questionnaire was developed and the quantitative data from 331 academic inventors were used to verify the result of the qualitative study. The quantitative data analysis suggests that the technologies that lead to the formation of a new company (either through formal or informal spin-offs) are complex and academics perceive higher profitability resulting from the commercialization of the technology. More novel or more system dependent technologies lead to the formation of formal university spin-offs and the technologies that are less novel or less system dependent are more likely to be transferred to a new company via informal spin-offs or to an existing company via licensing or consulting activity. In addition, when technologies are more capital intensive or patents are more effective for protection of them from imitation, they are more likely to be transferred formally via licensing or formal university spin-offs. The data analysis also confirms that higher dynamism associated with a technology leads to the creation of informal spin-offs and less patentability of a technology significantly predicts the engagement of academics in consulting activity. The thesis concludes with implication for theory and practices.

The underlying objective of this study was to develop a novel approach to evaluate the potential for commercialisation of a new technology. More specifically, this study examined the 'ex-ante'. evaluation of the technology transfer process. For this purpose, a technology originating from the high technology sector was used. The technology relates to the application of software for the detection of weak signals from space, which is an established method of signal processing in the field of radio astronomy. This technology has the potential to be used in commercial and industrial areas other than astronomy, such as detecting water leakages in pipes. Its applicability to detecting water leakage was chosen owing to several problems with detection in the industry as well as the impact it can have on saving water in the environment. This study, therefore, will demonstrate the importance of interdisciplinary technology transfer. The study employed both technical and business evaluation methods including laboratory experiments and the Delphi technique to address the research questions. There are several findings from this study. Firstly, scientific experiments were conducted and these resulted in a proof of concept stage of the chosen technology. Secondly, validation as well as refinement of criteria from literature that can be used for „ex-ante. evaluation of technology transfer has been undertaken. Additionally, after testing the chosen technology.s overall transfer potential using the modified set of criteria, it was found that the technology is still in its early stages and will require further development for it to be commercialised. Furthermore, a final evaluation framework was developed encompassing all the criteria found to be important. This framework can help in assessing the overall readiness of the technology for transfer as well as in recommending a viable mechanism for commercialisation. On the whole, the commercial potential of the chosen technology was tested through expert opinion, thereby focusing on the impact of a new technology and the feasibility of alternate applications and potential future applications.

This thesis sets out to explore limitations of the role undertaken by 'technology transfer' agencies in their contribution to successful innovation in UK industry. In particular it identifies the limitations arising from the widely used approach of maximising information Accessibility. A conceptual device is introduced to distinguish the existing emphasis on access to information about technology, from a more interactive and customer centred strategy - Using this simple conceptual model a more detailed analysis of the mismatch between the needs of potential innovators and the activities of information centred technology transfer agencies is undertaken by the use of both survey techniques and a case-study of one particular agency. The results of this analysis suggest that the Accessibility strategy by itself fails to address many of the issues and concerns that UK industry has about innovating and reinforces the need to adopt the more consumer need centred and interactive approach suggested by the model. The implications and potential requirements of such an approach are further developed with respect to transfer agencies and government and European Commission policy.

This dissertation contributes to the empirical literature on the effects of international technology transfer on firms' productivity and employment in developing and transition countries. It combines three empirical essays which provide evidence on how participation in international activities affects firms' productivity, how it interacts with firms' absorptive capacity and how it affects firms' demand for skilled labour in 26 transition countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. The first study investigates whether foreign ownership, supplying multinationals (MNEs) located in the same country, foreign direct investment (FDI) horizontal spillovers, exporting and importing are conduits of international technology transfer and their relative importance for firms in 26 transition economies in ECA region using Business Enterprise and Environment Performance Survey (BEEPS) 2002- 2005. It contributes to the literature by analyzing the impact of all main channels of international technology transfer simultaneously and by using a firm specific measure for supply linkages with MNEs, unlike previous studies that used industry level measures. The main results suggest that foreign ownership, supplying MNEs, exporting and importing are robustly associated with higher firm productivity and we cannot reject the hypothesis that these channels are equally important. The second study examines whether international technology transfer through foreign ownership, supplying MNEs, exporting and importing depends on firm and country absorptive capacity in 26 transition economies in ECA region using the BEEPS 2002 and 2005 waves. The main contributions of this paper are that it uses firm specific measures of access to foreign technology and measures of absorptive capacity (workforce education, personnel training and R&D activities) which are closely related to the concept of absorptive capacity and less prone to measurement errors than productivity gap measures used in previous studies. Our results suggest that access to foreign technology and absorptive capacity are associated with higher productivity, but, contrary to our hypothesis, there is no evidence of an interaction effect between absorptive capacity and access to foreign technology. The third study investigates how participation in international activities affects firms' demand for skilled labour and the ways in which firms respond to changes in demand for skilled labour in 26 transition economies in ECA during the period 2002-2005 using BEEPS 2002 and 2005 waves. It contributes to the literature by studying different ways in which firms respond to changes in the demand for skilled labour (hiring employees from outside the firm or training existing employees) and by studying whether there is a causal relationship between participation in international activities and demand for skilled labour. Our results suggest that firms engaged in international activities have a better educated labour force and are more likely to train their employees than domestic firms. However, this happens because firms with better skilled workforces and with formal training programmes select into participating in international activities, and not because these firms upgrade the skills of their workforces after starting to participate in international activities.

University technology transfer is of critical importance to the U.S. innovation economy. Understanding the drivers of technology transfer efficiency will shed light on University research portfolio management. In this dissertation, survey data from The Association of University Technology Managers is analyzed in various aspects to offer a overall understanding of the technology transfer industry, which include University research fund composition, technology transfer office staffing, licenses executed to start-ups, small companies, and large companies, license income composition, legal fee expenditures, new patents applications, provisional patents, utility patents, and non USA patents, invention disclosures, U.S. patents issued, start-ups initiated, and annual averages of U.S. University technology transfer offices. Then, a two-stage technology transfer model based on Data Envelopment Analysis is proposed to address the limitation of the single-stage model. The two-stage model provides the capacity to evaluate the efficiencies of university research and technology transfer office separately and also as a whole, offering better insights for university technology transfer management. Year to year productivity changes are also measured using Malmquist Index. It is found the productivity growth has stemmed primarily from a growth in commercialization by all universities rather than a catching up by the inefficient universities. Finally, technology transfer efficiency and academic reputation is studied for the first time. Counter intuitively, they are not correlated. To further understand University research portfolio management, Modern Portfolio Theory is applied for the first time in this field. University disciplines are categorized into three major disciplines: engineering, physical and mathematical sciences, and biological and life sciences. The risk and return of technology transfer are defined and research portfolio risk-return curve are solved. Then correlation between portfolio balance and technology transfer efficiency are studied. It is found that a balanced portfolio is correlated to technology transfer efficiency, which means Universities can structure its research portfolio to increase technology transfer efficiency.
Engineering and Applied Sciences

Bibliography: leaves 70-72.
The objective of this thesis is to design and program an application for the Linux based Axis Etrax100LX developer board using the C programming language. This application will collect sensor data (4-20mA signals as the standard analog inputs and 0-5V as the digital inputs) from the serial port of the Etrax100LX developer board, save them to a file on the developer board and make this data available for remote access. The idea behind using the Etrax100LX development board and writing software for it is to build a wireless, web-based monitoring system for electrical and mechanical rotating machineray which makes the data available for remote access. Bluetooth is a wireless, data transmission technology [13] designed specifically for use in Personal Area Networks (PANs) where up to seven Bluetooth enabled computing devices such as Personal Computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) can form either a Group ad-hoc Network (GN or Bluetooth Piconet) or a network where one of them acts as a proxy, router or bridge (Network Access Point, NAP) between and existing network inftrastructure (typically LAN) and the other Bluetooth devices [14].

Mestrado em Engenharia Química
Energy is a current topic and although due to different motivations (rising fuel costs, environmental issues or supply security) the main goals are common, consume less energy and find alternatives to fossil fuel based technologies. Nowadays, significant efforts towards the implementation of sustainable energy technologies, by delineating strategies and priorities, as well as through developing supporting mechanisms and building scenarios. In Europe this efforts are being taken in order to meet the ambitious and binding energy and climate change objectives for 2020. In the form of electricity, heat, light, mechanical, biological or chemical, energy will become an always more expensive commodity, and therefore there is a great need to manage this resource effectively. New products made from new advanced materials can have a large impact on the energy field. It is intended with this dissertation to better understand the energy problem nowadays, to explore applicability of materials science towards sustainable energy technologies with potential to commercial deployment and to understand in each way the positioning of the University of Aveiro associate laboratory CICECO – Centre for Research in Ceramics and Composites Materials, the largest Portuguese institute in the field of materials science and engineering, is fulfilling these assumptions. Therefore, this analysis aims at gathering information in order to create a tool for strategic decision making.
A energia é uma temática atual e, apesar das diferentes motivações (o aumento do consumo de combustíveis, as questões ambientais ou de segurança de abastecimento), os principais objetivos são comuns, reduzir o consumo de energia e encontrar formas de energia alternativas aos combustíveis fósseis. Actualmente estão a ser desenvolvidos esforços significativos no sentido da implementação de tecnologias de energia sustentável, delineando para tal estratégias e prioridades, assim como desenvolvendo mecanismos de financiamento e projecção de cenários. Na Europa, estes esforços estão a ser desenvolvidos no sentido de cumprir com os objectivos ambiciosos estabelecidos para 2020, no que respeita a energia e às alterações climáticas. Sob a forma de electricidade, calor, luz, mecânica, biológica ou química, a energia vai se tornar uma comodidade cada vez mais cara e, neste sentido, há uma grande necessidade de gerir este recurso de forma eficaz. Novos produtos resultantes do desenvolvimento de novos materiais avançados poderão ter um impacto significativo na área da energia. Pretende-se com esta dissertação analisar a atual problemática energética, explorar a aplicabilidade da ciência dos materiais em tecnologias energéticas sustentáveis com potencial de comercialização e perceber de que forma o posicionamento do Laboratório Associado da Universidade de Aveiro, CICECO - Centro de Investigação em Materiais Cerâmicos e Compósitos, o maior instituto Português em matéria de engenharia e ciência dos materiais, vai ao encontro desses pressupostos. Deste modo, a presente análise pretende reunir informação de forma a criar uma ferramenta de apoio à decisão em termos de desenvolvimento estratégico.

The gap that exists between the technologies in developed and less developed countries leads to the possibility and necessity of agricultural technology transfer. The lower cost of transfer compared with costs of local development leads to profitable transfer for recipient country. Recipient country must perform local research to adapt the transferred technology to their local needs and to ensure that benefits are distributed in an equitable manner. Is it in the interest of the donor country to sell technology to less developed country? Conventional arguments consider only whether technology transfer to less developed country will be against the donor country's interest in agricultural product exports. It is incomplete. Economic surplus concept has been applied here to discuss both producer's and consumer's gain or lose. An empirical analysis of the U.S.-Mexico agricultural technology transfer showed that both Mexico and United States benefited from the technology transfer.

The economic literature on the Technology Transfer process has mainly focused on the university, as repository and distributor of knowledge. Today, however, this institution can be effectively substituted by various forms of private and publicly-funded organizations, especially for applied research. Therefore, there is a need for determining if, and how, the previous knowledge gained on the University-Industry Technology Transfer process can be applied also to private entities. This work aims to provide, initially, a review of the literature surrounding the phenomenon, with a specific focus on four different variables: involved actors, transfer channels, processes and mechanisms, governance and policy. Later, will be described various theoretical differences emerging when the University is substitute by a private organization, to inductively determine how peculiarities of these institutions may influence the process. Lastly, these theoretical differences will be tested against a case study, the Bruno Kessler Foundation, to confirm or refuse the hypothesis.

Through the years, the topic of technological transfer has gained importance among firms, universities and government due to the fast change that companies are called to answer if the wanted to survive. Each of the actors mentioned has to take an active role in providing its own competences with the aim of achieving innovative results and being competitive in the market. As a matter of fact, there is a general confluence of opinions that sustains that the economic future of a country is strongly affected by its capacity to combine entrepreneurship and innovation. For this reason, scientific research and innovation are more and more intertwined. The thesis aims at providing a theoretical background related to the transfer of knowledge, more specifically technology transfer, and a description of the structures that allows it. Subsequently, though the study of the failed case of an Italian company in the field, Veneto Nanotech, some recommendations will be drawn for the correct functioning of this process.

The first chapter analyzes the subject of the technology transfer process with the perspective of the institutional theory. The scope of the paper is to delineate the formal and informal institutional elements that changed in the academic entrepreneurship paradigm through a review of the literature. In particular, I use the Aoki’s theoretical point of view that unifies institutional theory and game theory, and defines the institutional context as the political exchange domain with dynamic institutional complementarities. The emergence of the university entrepreneurship paradigm has been a incremental change, recalling the theoretical idea that institutional evolution involves transitions among three aspects of institutions, which Scott (1995) called pillars: the regulative, normative, and cognitive, together shaping the creation of a new common approach. One aspect may be dominant at any given time, but the three coexist and are interconnected (Hirsch, 1997). The scope of this paper is to delineate a picture of the institutional elements that changed in the academic entrepreneurship field through an analysis of the literature contributions of the formal and informal institutions acting in the technology transfer process, applying the theory on institutional change developed by Aoki (2001). Formal and informal institutions in the university technology transfer process, in a unified perspective, suggest that the process of institutional change may not necessarily be hierarchically ordered in terms of causation, but it needs a coordination between the different institutions and domains. The second chapter analyzes the relations between the main stakeholders involved in the transfer process of scientific knowledge to society, proposing a innovative perspective on the funding gap problem, widely described in the literature regarding technological and scientific new ventures. The aim of this study it’s to appraise the influence of the commercialization funds provided through the university TTO on the probability to receive venture capital follow-on funding through the database of all the spinoffs created to exploit University of Michigan-assigned inventions from 1999 to 2010 and controlling for other important drivers of VC investments’ decisions, i.e. the spinoff’s technological endowment, the founders’ human capital and network’s resources. In line with theoretical contributions proposing a signaling role of public funding in reducing the information asymmetry faced by private investors (Chan, 1983; Takalo & Tanayama, 2010; Lerner, 1999) and suggesting a further enriched role for TTOs, the findings point out that venture capitalists perceive the gap funds as a signal about the quality and credibility of the new businesses, and use the information to identify the best spinoffs to finance. The contribution to the literature are mainly two, with important policy implications in the academic entrepreneurship environment: (i) a study of the effects of the TTO gap funding support, a practice that has become widespread in the universities’ policies, but received little attention in the academic researches; (ii) a new interpretation of the relations between scientists, technology transfer offices and venture capitalists, the main stakeholders involved in the transfer process of scientific knowledge to society. The third chapter is an extension of the second one, investigating if the provision of TTO gap funding to spinoff companies at the embryonic phase has an influence in their consequent sales growth and an impact on spinoffs development. With this scope, I analyze how the funding support provided through the University of Michigan’s technology transfer office influences spinoffs’ sales growth. To the U-M Tech Transfer’s database, are added the information regarding the spinoff’s sales through the Orbis database, in particular the absolute growth in the period 2007-2010. The methods used are descriptive, distributional and quantitative analysis. The analysis of the distribution of the spinoffs that receive (i) no economic support, (ii) only the university commercialization funds and (iii) both TTO gap funds and venture capital evidences a clear difference between the three groups of spinoffs, supporting the hypothesis of a moderate impact of TTO gap fund, and a high influence on sales growth of venture capital investments. We test the distributions equivalence and reject the null hypothesis of the equality of the distributions with the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. The regressions provide support also to the analysis of the second chapter, sustaining the presence of a mediating variable through the Baron and Kenney’s test. The results show that the sales growth was not uniform, and superior performances couldn’t be justified only by the provision of TTO gap funds. We test the indirect influence of TTO gap funding on spinoffs’ sales growth, and we find that TTO gap funding has an indirect positive effect, mediated by the VC financing, on the performance of spinoff companies. Although, TTO gap funds alone seem not sufficient to drive consistent economic performances in the spinoffs, but it substantially improves the spinoffs position the investment markets playing a certification role
Il primo capitolo analizza il tema del trasferimento tecnologico attraverso la prospettiva della teoria istituzionale. Lo scopo dell’elaborato è di delineare gli elementi istituzionali formali e informali che sono cambiati nel paradigma dell’imprenditorialità accademica nel contesto americano ed europeo attraverso un’analisi della letteratura. In particolare viene usata la specificazione di Aoki, che unisce la teoria istituzionale e la teoria dei giochi, e consente di definire il contesto istituzionale come il dominio di scambio politico con complementarietà istituzionali dinamiche. Seguendo la categorizzazione di istituzioni formali e informali fornita da North, e basata sui tre pilastri delle istituzioni definite da Scott (regolativo, normatico e culturale-cognitivo), l’elaborato prosegue raccogliendo i contributi teorici della letteratura sul tema dell’imprenditorialità accademica. Il contributo teorico si compone principalmente di due aspetti: da una parte una nuova configurazione istituzionale dell’imprenditorialità accademica utilizzando le definizioni teoriche proposte da Aoki, dall’altra una categorizzazione della letteratura per gli impatti forniti dalle varie istituzioni formali ed informali al trasferimento tecnologico universitario suggerendo che il processo di cambiamento istituzionale possa non avere un ordine gerarchico in termini di casualità ma necessiti soprattutto di coordinamento. Il secondo capitolo analizza le relazioni tra i principali stakeholders coinvolti nel processo di creazione di uno spinoff accademico, proponendo una lettura innovativa del problema del funding gap ampiamente decritto dalla letteratura quando parla di nuove aziende innovative, scientifiche o tecnologiche. Analizzando il database degli spinoffs fondati dall’University of Michigan attraverso metodologiche statistiche sofisticate e controllando per fattori importanti come le caratteristiche del brevetto dato in licenza, le caratteristiche del capitale umano e le risorse fornite dai network professionali, lo studio scopre una relazione molto stretta tra i fondi di commercializzazione forniti dall’ufficio di trasferimento tecnologico e la probabilità di ricevere poi finanziamenti privati da venture capitalists. La spiegazione fornita per spiegare questo fenomeno viene dalla teoria dei giochi, dove in caso di asimmetrie informative (Akerlof, 1970) l’uso di segnali aiuta nel differenziare le migliori aziende da tutte le altre presenti nel mercato. In particolare, il segnale fornito dai sussidi pubblici alle nuove aziende innovative era stato studiato in maniera teorica da Chan (1983), Lerner (1999), e Takalo e Tanayama (2010). I contributi innovativi della ricerca quindi sono prevalentemente due: (i) un primo studio empirico degli effetti dei fondi di commercializzazione forniti dall’ufficio di trasferimento tecnologico, nel contesto di uno stato federale nella media e quindi al di fuori degli ecosistemi altamente specializzati e difficilmente comparabili della Silicon Valley (Stanford University) e della Route 128 (MIT); (ii) un’interpretazione molto interessante del fenomeno e delle relazioni tra l’ufficio di trasferimento tecnologico e la comunità degli investori privati venture capital, dimostratasi in diversi studi essenziale per la sopravvivenza, lo sviluppo e la crescita delle nuove aziende tecnologiche, sia per le loro capacità di finanziamento che per le loro attività di supporto e coach. Il terzo capitolo si pone come un’estensione del secondo, dove la domanda di ricerca è se i fondi di commercializzazione forniti dall’ufficio di trasferimento tecnologico abbiano anche un effetto sulle performance a lungo termine degli spinoffs analizzati in precedenza. Per fare ciò, al database precedente vengono aggiunte le informazioni relative alle vendite degli spinoffs, e in particolare la crescita assoluta nel triennio 2007-2010. I metodi applicati sono analisi descrittive e analisi della distribuzione, oltre alle analisi quantitative regressive. Le analisi delle distribuzioni dei gruppi di spinoffs che non hanno ricevuto nessun supporto economico, che hanno ricevuto solo i fondi di commercializzazione e che hanno ricevuto entrambi i finanziamenti evidenzia che questi tre gruppi sono completamente diversi tra loro (Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test), evidenziando quindi che sia i fondi di commercializzazione che i fondi di venture capital hanno un effetto determinante nella crescita degli spinoffs. Le regressioni a loro volta mostrano il comportamento tipico evidenziato da Baron e Kenny in caso di variabile mediatrice. Vengono quindi ulteriormente rinforzati i risultati del secondo capitolo, mentre solo le analisi delle distribuzioni permettono di affermare un impatto positivo dei fondi di commercializzazione sulla crescita degli spinoffs indipendentemente dalla presenza di venture capital, perché nelle analisi regressive impatto delle aziende finanziate da venture capital oscura invece i modesti risultati di quelle finanziate solamente dai fondi di commerciliazzazione

Thomas J Allen.
"This is a revised version of a paper which was originally delivered at the European Industrial Research Management Association Conference, Berlin, May 30, 1990. "August 1990."
Includes bibliographical references.