Organizational learning,
knowledge and technology
transfer: a case study
Abdelkader Daghfous
American University of Sharjah, School of Business and Management,
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Keywords Information transfer, Organizational development, Accreditation of prior learning,
Project management, Case studies
Abstract Knowledge-based competition has magnified the importance of learning alliances as a
fast and effective mechanism of capability development. This case presents a technology transfer
project from a university’s engineering research center to a private firm to illuminate learning and
knowledge-based determinants of the outcomes of such projects. In this paper, project success and
effective knowledge transfer are used interchangeably to indicate a relatively high level of
achievement of intended as well as the unintended benefits to the recipient firm. The main focus of
this paper is on the contribution of prior related knowledge and the learning processes and
activities, performed by the recipient firm, to such benefits. Based on the results of the case study,
this paper draws several implications that differ from those prevailing in the literature on
organizational learning and technology transfer, proposes ideas for future research, and makes
practical recommendations for managers.
Introduction
Technology-driven companies are increasingly dependent on collaborative
relationships, such as technology transfer, to face an ever-changing competitive
landscape characterized by rapid technological diffusion, rising cost of
development, and compression of product life cycles. The early literature on
strategic alliances focused primarily on alliance structuring and outcomes.
Starting in the late 1980s, much research attention has been directed to the
processes of learning and knowledge transfer, especially in the context of
technology transfer projects (e.g. Leonard-Barton, 1995), R&D collaboration
(e.g. Amabile et al., 2001), and strategic alliances (e.g. Mowery et al., 1996; Sen
and Egelhoff, 2000). Both streams of literature, on technology transfer and
organizational learning, increasingly recognize and provide empirical evidence
of the unintended (i.e. spillover) benefits that are achieved through learning
activities performed by the recipient firm during a technology transfer project.
Several studies have sought to illustrate how firms can fully exploit a
technology transfer relationship so that tangible as well as intangible benefits
accrue to the firm. For inter-organizational collaborations in general, important
intangible benefits are primarily of the learning type, such as learning how to
transfer knowledge across alliances and learning how to locate the firm in
capability enhancing network positions (Powell et al., 1996). Most such studies
followed Cohen and Levinthal’s (1989) seminal work, which provided empirical
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Organizational
learning: a case
study
67
The Learning Organization
Vol. 11 No. 1, 2004
pp. 67-83
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0969-6474
DOI 10.1108/09696470410515733