Socialism to Capitalism: Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia

After the fall of the Berlin wall and Eastern regimes of Socialism in Central Eastern Europe during the transition into capitalism, many countries suffered a drastic decline in their technological competences, technological transfers, and research activities following the 1990s. This research seeks to assess whether or not the policy of technology transfer practiced during the socialist era improved for these countries following their entry to a capitalist regime and their subsequent joining of the European Union. Croatia is used as an example of a typical transition country with a specific type of market socialism, with controversial outcomes arising from its particular transition process in comparison to its peers. Despite the assistance of the European Union, which helped many new members from socialist backgrounds to recover their economies by upgrading their technological capabilities, the technology transfer practices in the Republic of Croatia continues to unfold very slowly. Technological transfer occurs as a highly contextual phenomenon, dependent not only on the structure of the economy and technological and research capacities, but also on the political economy and the type of capitalism. This research identifies the three phases of the evolution of university technology transfer: science-based models in socialism; endeavors towards an innovation-based model throughout the transition period; and the bureaucratic model, driven by the EU cohesion policy and facilitated through access to the European Structural Funds.