IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v122y2017icp196-206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International technology transfer and the dynamics of complementarity: A new approach

Author

Listed:
  • Majidpour, Mehdi

Abstract

Latecomer firm's catch-up through indigenous R&D and cross-border technology transfer embeds various influencing factors that are present simultaneously – beyond the will or power of managers and policy makers – and that have to be recognised, analysed and taken into account. Despite the increase in literature on substitution/complementary relationship, some ambiguity remains in understanding the complexity of complementing between indigenous and overseas technology sources. Unlike the majority studies on complementarity, this paper suggests the dynamic approach by which scholars are able to reach a deeper understanding of the dynamics, challenges and difficulties of these relationships. This study builds a theoretical framework to being operationalized in the context of Iranian latecomer firm located in gas turbine industry. This paper shows that taking the dynamic approach is able to reveal the strategies by which the latecomer firm deals with the difficulties of acquiring advanced technologies. Although complementary relationship exists, it is a strategic vision to understand how a latecomer firm complements its indigenous efforts with overseas technology sources. Different kinds of insights will be provided in terms of national-, industry- and firm-level factors and the strategies by which a latecomer firm can deal with these factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Majidpour, Mehdi, 2017. "International technology transfer and the dynamics of complementarity: A new approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 196-206.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:196-206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162516000706
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.03.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hobday, Mike, 1998. "Product complexity, innovation and industrial organisation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(6), pages 689-710, February.
    2. Lee, Keun & Lim, Chaisung, 2001. "Technological regimes, catching-up and leapfrogging: findings from the Korean industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 459-483, March.
    3. Howard Pack & Kamal Saggi, 1997. "Inflows of Foreign Technology and Indigenous Technological Development," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 1(1), pages 81-98, February.
    4. Andrew Davies, 1997. "The Life Cycle of a Complex Product System," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(03), pages 229-256.
    5. Mytelka, Lynn Krieger, 1978. "Licensing and technology dependence in the Andean group," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 447-459, April.
    6. Swann, Peter & Prevezer, Martha, 1996. "A comparison of the dynamics of industrial clustering in computing and biotechnology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(7), pages 1139-1157, October.
    7. Lee, Keun & Kim, Byung-Yeon, 2009. "Both Institutions and Policies Matter but Differently for Different Income Groups of Countries: Determinants of Long-Run Economic Growth Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 533-549, March.
    8. Braga, Helson & Willmore, Larry, 1991. "Technological Imports and Technological Effort: An Analysis of Their Determinants in Brazilian Firms," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(4), pages 421-432, June.
    9. Freeman, Chris & Hagedoorn, John, 1994. "Catching up or falling behind: Patterns in international interfirm technology partnering," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 771-780, May.
    10. Keun Lee, 2009. "How Can Korea be a Role Model for Catch-up Development?: A 'Capability-based View'," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2009-34, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Breschi, Stefano & Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2000. "Technological Regimes and Schumpeterian Patterns of Innovation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(463), pages 388-410, April.
    12. Majidpour, Mehdi, 2012. "Heavy duty gas turbines in Iran, India and China: Do national energy policies drive the industries?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 723-732.
    13. Islas, Jorge, 1997. "Getting round the lock-in in electricity generating systems: the example of the gas turbine," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 49-66, March.
    14. Lee, Jaymin, 1996. "Technology imports and R&D efforts of Korean manufacturing firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 197-210, June.
    15. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt & Jeffrey A. Martin, 2000. "Dynamic capabilities: what are they?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(10‐11), pages 1105-1121, October.
    16. Mu, Qing & Lee, Keun, 2005. "Knowledge diffusion, market segmentation and technological catch-up: The case of the telecommunication industry in China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 759-783, August.
    17. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    18. Thomas Magnusson & Fredrik Tell & Jim Watson, 2005. "From CoPS to mass production? Capabilities and innovation in power generation equipment manufacturing," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(1), pages 1-26, February.
    19. Linsu Kim, 1998. "Crisis Construction and Organizational Learning: Capability Building in Catching-up at Hyundai Motor," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(4), pages 506-521, August.
    20. Jan Fagerberg & Manuel Godinho, 2003. "Innovation and catching-up," Working Papers 24, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    21. Katrak, Homi, 1997. "Developing countries' imports of technology, in-house technological capabilities and efforts: an analysis of the Indian experience," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 67-83, June.
    22. Lee, Keun, 2005. "Making a Technological Catch-up: Barriers and Opportunities," MPRA Paper 109776, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Frances Stewart, 1978. "Technology and Underdevelopment," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, edition 0, number 978-1-349-15932-1, March.
    24. Watson, Jim, 2004. "Selection environments, flexibility and the success of the gas turbine," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1065-1080, October.
    25. Keun Lee & Raeyoon Kang, 2010. "University-Industry Linkages and Economic Catch-Up in Asia," Millennial Asia, , vol. 1(2), pages 151-169, July.
    26. Hagedoorn, John & Wang, Ning, 2012. "Is there complementarity or substitutability between internal and external R&D strategies?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1072-1083.
    27. Whang, Yun-kyung & Hobday, Michael, 2011. "Local 'Test Bed' Market Demand in the Transition to Leadership: The Case of the Korean Mobile Handset Industry," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1358-1371, August.
    28. Anna Bergek & Fredrik Tell & Christian Berggren & Jim Watson, 2008. "Technological capabilities and late shakeouts: industrial dynamics in the advanced gas turbine industry, 1987-2002," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 17(2), pages 335-392, April.
    29. Franco Malerba & Richard Nelson, 2011. "Learning and catching up in different sectoral systems: evidence from six industries," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 20(6), pages 1645-1675, December.
    30. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    31. Mike Hobday, 1994. "Export‐led Technology Development in the Four Dragons: The Case of Electronics," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 25(2), pages 333-361, April.
    32. Mazzoleni, Roberto & Nelson, Richard R., 2007. "Public research institutions and economic catch-up," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1512-1528, December.
    33. Miller, Roger, et al, 1995. "Innovation in Complex Systems Industries: The Case of Flight Simulation," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 4(2), pages 363-400.
    34. Carlota Perez, 2008. "A Vision for Latin America: A resource-based strategy for technological dynamism and social inclusion," Globelics Working Paper Series 2008-01, Globelics - Global Network for Economics of Learning, Innovation, and Competence Building Systems, Aalborg University, Department of Business and Management.
    35. Pérez, Carlota, 2001. "Technological change and opportunities for development as a moving target," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    36. Slavo Radosevic, 1999. "International Technology Transfer and Catch-Up in Economic Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1386.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maciej Woźniak & Marek Matejun & Fadhlur Rahim Azmi & Mior Harris Mior Harun & Fazlena Hamzah, 2023. "Technology Transfer Centers as Support Instruments for SMEs—Comparative Analysis of Poland and Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Hansen, Ulrich Elmer & Lema, Rasmus, 2019. "The co-evolution of learning mechanisms and technological capabilities: Lessons from energy technologies in emerging economies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 241-257.
    3. Majidpour, Mehdi & Saber, Ali & Elahi, Shaban & Shayan, Ali & Sahebkar Khorasani, Seyed Mohammad, 2021. "Technological catch-up in the biopharmaceutical sector: Evidence from Iran," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Zhongji Yang & Liangqun Qi & Xin Li & Tianxi Wang, 2022. "How Does Successful Catch-Up Occur in Complex Products and Systems from the Innovation Ecosystem Perspective? A Case of China’s High-Speed Railway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    5. Kwak, Kiho & Yoon, Hyungseok (David), 2020. "Unpacking transnational industry legitimacy dynamics, windows of opportunity, and latecomers’ catch-up in complex product systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(4).
    6. Kafouros, Marios & Love, James H & Ganotakis, Panagiotis & Konara, Palitha, 2020. "Experience in R&D collaborations, innovative performance and the moderating effect of different dimensions of absorptive capacity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    7. Davy, Elder & Hansen, Ulrich E., 2023. "A firm-level perspective on windows of opportunity," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhongji Yang & Liangqun Qi & Xin Li & Tianxi Wang, 2022. "How Does Successful Catch-Up Occur in Complex Products and Systems from the Innovation Ecosystem Perspective? A Case of China’s High-Speed Railway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Soltanzadeh, Javad & Rahmani, Soma & Majidpour, Mehdi, 2024. "Technological catch-up in the Iranian steel industry: Integrating regime-based and complex product systems approaches," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. Sasidharan, Subash & Kathuria, Vinish, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and R&D: Substitutes or Complements--A Case of Indian Manufacturing after 1991 Reforms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 1226-1239, July.
    4. Gil, Nuno & Miozzo, Marcela & Massini, Silvia, 2012. "The innovation potential of new infrastructure development: An empirical study of Heathrow airport's T5 project," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 452-466.
    5. Binz, Christian & Gosens, Jorrit & Hansen, Teis & Hansen, Ulrich Elmer, 2017. "Toward Technology-Sensitive Catching-Up Policies: Insights from Renewable Energy in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 418-437.
    6. Ahmadvand, Emad & Salami, Seyed Reza & Soofi, Jahanyar Bamdad & Tabatabaeian, Seyed Habibollah, 2018. "Catch-up process in nanotechnology start-ups: The case of an Iranian electrospinning firm," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 1-8.
    7. Yuzhe Miao & Jaeyong Song & Keun Lee & Chuyue Jin, 2018. "Technological catch-up by east Asian firms: Trends, issues, and future research agenda," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 639-669, September.
    8. Nordensvard, Johan & Zhou, Yuan & Zhang, Xiao, 2018. "Innovation core, innovation semi-periphery and technology transfer: The case of wind energy patents," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 213-227.
    9. Majidpour, Mehdi & Saber, Ali & Elahi, Shaban & Shayan, Ali & Sahebkar Khorasani, Seyed Mohammad, 2021. "Technological catch-up in the biopharmaceutical sector: Evidence from Iran," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    10. Han Huang & Jie Xiong & Junfang Zhang, 2021. "Windows of Opportunity in the CoPS’s Catch-Up Process: A Case Study of China’s High-Speed Train Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    11. Souzanchi Kashani, Ebrahim & Radosevic, Slavo & Kiamehr, Mehdi & Gholizadeh, Hossein, 2022. "The intellectual evolution of the technological catch-up literature: Bibliometric analysis," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    12. Lei Guo & Marina Yue Zhang & Mark Dodgson & David Gann & Hong Cai, 2019. "Seizing windows of opportunity by using technology-building and market-seeking strategies in tandem: Huawei’s sustained catch-up in the global market," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(3), pages 849-879, September.
    13. He, Xiyou & Mu, Qing, 2012. "How Chinese firms learn technology from transnational corporations: A comparison of the telecommunication and automobile industries," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 270-287.
    14. Guo, Yanting & Zheng, Gang, 2019. "How do firms upgrade capabilities for systemic catch-up in the open innovation context? A multiple-case study of three leading home appliance companies in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 36-48.
    15. Yoruk, Deniz E., 2019. "Dynamics of firm-level upgrading and the role of learning in networks in emerging markets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 341-369.
    16. Teoman Pamukçu & Michele Cincera, 2001. "Analyse des déterminants de l'innovation technologique dans un Nouveau Pays Industrialisé : une étude économétrique sur données d'entreprises dans le secteur manufacturier turc," Economie & Prévision, La Documentation Française, vol. 0(4), pages 139-158.
    17. Rikap, Cecilia, 2022. "Becoming an intellectual monopoly by relying on the national innovation system: the State Grid Corporation of China's experience," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(4).
    18. Keun Lee and John Mathews, 2013. "Science, technology and innovation for sustainable development," CDP Background Papers 016, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    19. Davies, Andrew & Brady, Tim, 2000. "Organisational capabilities and learning in complex product systems: towards repeatable solutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7-8), pages 931-953, August.
    20. Kim, Jungho & Lee, Chang-Yang, 2016. "Technological regimes and firm survival," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 232-243.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:122:y:2017:i:c:p:196-206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.