Unpacking technology transfer coverage: a quantitative study of the Italian press

Theoretical and empirical analyses of technology transfer are a well-established field of research due to significant impact that technology transfer has on society. However, little is known about the societal discourse on technology transfer. Media coverage could offer valuable insights, however this topic has not been explored in media studies or in the literature on the public understanding of science. This paper fills this gap and examines the media coverage of technology transfer in three prominent Italian newspapers from 1989 to 2019. It provides a general descriptive analysis, and identifies factors that influence the likelihood of the media raising issues related to technology transfer. The empirical analysis reveals that the press presents a generic description of technology transfer, with only a minority of articles associating technology transfer with specific industries, the identity of technology suppliers, and the characteristics of technology users. Less than a third of the articles raise issues related to technology transfer, and these issues are typically discussed in isolation from one another. On the one hand, the media’s portrayal of technology transfer fails to capture the interplay of various issues and, on the other, it does not emphasize the connections between these issues, the industries involved, or the characteristics of the stakeholders.