Management of International Technology Transfer

The significant liberalization of the Indian government’s policies towards foreign collaboration and industry in general has led to an upsurge in the annual number of tie-ups between Indian and foreign firms in industrially developed countries. While this development augers well for the technological upgradation of Indian industry it may pose enormous challenges for the technology purchasers. This paper highlights some of the problems faced by firms in Indian industry assimilating foreign technology and illustrates how they were overcome. A conceptual framework in the form of four organizational stages in the process of acquiring and assimilating foreign technology is presented, which is then illustrated with the help of two case studies. Finally, this paper also draws some implications for technology buyers in developing countries and MNCs and other technology sellers in industrially advanced nations.