Technology Transfer to China: A Theoretical Approach

SUMMARY

Various economic theories can be used to shed some light on the complex phenomenon of technology transfer between two firms belonging to two distinct economies. Vernon's PLC model, Dunning's eclectic theory, and Coase's and Williamson's transaction cost theory highlight various aspects of the firm's transnational economic and business relations. Moreover, the new international trade theories and the more modern concept of National Innovation System emphasize technology as a crucial variable in the determination of commercial flows and of economic growth. Our theoretical approach goes beyond these various approaches in that it is designed to reflect the complexities of the economic, socio-cultural and political conditions prevailing in the recipient country. In particular, the ability of recipient countries to use their bargaining power is highlighted. The case of technology transfer in the Chinese telecommunications equipment industry will illustrate our general framework.     

Changing HRM systems in two Russian oil companies: Western hegemony or Russian spetsifika?

We contrast attempts to introduce what were seen as sophisticated Western-style human resource management (HRM) systems into two Russian oil companies – a joint venture with a Western multinational corporation (TNK-BP) and a wholly Russian-owned company (Yukos). The drivers for Western hegemony within the joint venture, heavily influenced by expatriates and the established HRM processes introduced by the Western parent, were counteracted to a significant degree by the Russian spetsifika – the peculiarly Russian way of thinking and doing things. In contrast, developments were absorbed faster in the more authoritarian Russian-owned company. The research adds to the theoretical debate about international knowledge transfer and provides detailed empirical data to support our understanding of the effect of both organizational and cultural context on the knowledge-transfer mechanisms of local and multinational companies. As the analysis is based on the perspective of senior local nationals, we also address a relatively under-researched area in the international HRM literature which mostly relies on empirical data collected from expatriates and those based solely in multinational headquarters.     

Hybridization: striking a balance between adoption and adaptation of human resource management practices in French multinational corporations and their Tunisian subsidiaries

International management research has tended to approach the transfer of human resource management (HRM) practices by examining the one-way transfer from parent companies to their subsidiaries, their adaptation to the subsidiaries’ local context and, more recently, the reverse transfer of HRM practices from subsidiaries to their headquarters. This article aims to analyse the transfer of HRM practices from headquarters to their foreign subsidiaries through the process of hybridization. Although numerous studies focus on the transfer of HRM practices between economically developed countries or from these countries to transitional economies, few have considered French multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in ex-colonized countries. This paper addresses the ways in which the HRM hybridization process is implemented in two French subsidiaries operating in Tunisia. It focuses on the dual perspectives of managerial staff at headquarters and subsidiaries as well as shop floor employees in the subsidiaries. A range of HRM practices (recruitment and selection, compensation, performance appraisal and career management) is analysed from their transfer to their reinterpretation. The results show the importance of the concept of hybridization on HRM practice transfer through a multi-level analysis of the strategies used by various stakeholders during the hybridization process. The paper also provides useful insights into the factors of hybridization that may foster or inhibit the transfer and adoption of HRM practices by foreign subsidiaries. These include the relational context, the type of practices transferred, the interests of different professional categories and their social interactions. Based on these factors, several hybridizations are identified. The study points out the specificity of the Tunisian context and shows that institutional factors have less influence on the transfer of HRM practices in ex-colonized countries than cultural factors that have a transversal influence on different HRM practices. Key cultural factors constraining the transfer include emotional relationships and interpersonal trust. Moreover, the international transfer of HRM practices from MNCs to ex-colonized transitional countries requires taking into account the post-colonialism and fascination effects.     

A model of intergenerational transfers

Summary. Extending some existing literature, this paper formalizes the idea that intergenerational transfers occur because people care about the “characteristics” (i.e quantity and quality) of their offspring, rather than their children's welfare per se or consumption. The model analyzes this transfer motive in an infinite Markovian game framework, and it proves the existence of a stationary Markov Perfect equilibrium. Further, the analysis shows that under certain conditions, the proposed transfer motive will diminish, as the average income of an economy is sufficiently high. Thus, it suggests that as incomes continue to rise beyond a certain level, the (extended) life-cycle hypothesis will likely be a better and better approximation for explaining most people's saving behavior. This result also provides an explanation for the decline of the saving rates in the U.S. and other developed countries. Received: December 28, 1998; revised version: February 17, 2000     

南水北调中线水源地生态与经济系统动态分析——以汉中市为例

把生态与经济系统耦合类型划分为生态良好经济发达型、生态良好经济欠发达型、生态脆弱经济发达型、生态脆弱经济欠发达型四种。基于生态足迹理论,构建了生态资本效用指数、生态&经济协调指数,对南水北调工程水源地汉中市1990～2009年生态经济系统运行态势进行了动态分析。结果如下:生态资本供需变化较大:1993年以前为生态盈余,1994～2001年为基本持平,2002～2009年为轻度赤字;生态压力逐渐增大,由1990年的0.74提高到2009年的1.15;2009年的生态资本转换效用是1990年的1.82倍,同期生态与经济协同发展指数提高了2.01倍。研究表明,汉中市生态与经济系统目前属于生态良好经济欠发达型。据此,提出了生态资源经济化的路径与建议。     

腹部带血管蒂皮瓣转移修复手外伤皮肤缺损的临床疗效

目的探讨腹部带血管蒂皮瓣转移修复手外伤皮肤缺损的临床疗效。方法选取我院2012年2月至2014年2月收治的80例手外伤皮肤缺损患者的临床资料进行回顾性分析,将其分为两组。观察组患者使用腹部带血管蒂皮瓣进行修复,对照组患者使用手指掌侧推进皮瓣进行修复,观察两组患者治疗效果。结果观察组40例患者皮瓣全部成活,对照组患者皮瓣成活37例,观察组优于对照组(P<0.05);外形恢复满意度方面,观察组患者满意度为97.5%(39/40),对照组患者满意度为70.0%(28/40),其中对照组患者有2例出现轻度臃肿,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论腹部带血管蒂皮瓣转移修复手外伤皮肤缺损的疗效明显,患者满意度高,外形恢复完整,具有较高安全性。     

Characteristics of technology transfer in business ventures: the case of Daejeon, Korea

This article explores the characteristics of venture business and entrepreneurs in Korea to (1) identify technology transfer activities, (2) analyze the differences between technology transfer in linear and nonlinear venture businesses, and (3) guide more effective venture business policy and strategy. This empirical assessment reveals that entrepreneurs have insightful evaluations about their resources and capacities as well as expectations with regard to functions and features of science parks and incubators. Respondents from “linear model”-based start-ups tend to be older and have higher education, employ more basic research and development (R&D) and have more R&D-oriented careers, and have more varied work experience than “nonlinear”-based start-ups. The functions and features of science parks and incubators were generally not considered a critical influence on start-ups nor on the growth of venture businesses. Accordingly, alternative venture-nurturing strategies are discussed as being key to accelerate venture businesses growth.     

Elicitation of Expert Opinion in Benefit Transfer of Environmental Goods

Benefit transfer is a method for estimating the value of environmental goods that involves the use of past information on identical or similar goods. This paper considers the extent to which benefit transfer can be based on prior distributions elicited from expert opinion. We propose two alternative methods to elicit the parameters of a prior distribution from experts on environmental valuation. An experiment is carried out on the value of National Parks in Spain. The results from the elicited distributions are compared with the information provided by onsite samples of visitors. The results indicate that individual experts made different predictions about the potential value of the policy areas that were diverse and unable to accurately predict the value for each policy site. However, the average across the elicited distributions approaches the estimated distribution with empirical data and accurately predicts the relative values for the two policy sites considered.     

An empirical investigation of the roles of prior knowledge and learning activities in technology transfer

This study analyzes 120 university–industry technology transfer projects. A significant positive relationship was found between the learning activities performed by the firm during the development and implementation stages of the technology transfer project and the benefits to that firm from the project. In contrast, prior knowledge of the firm about the existing technology was found to have only a marginal contribution to the project benefits. However, further exploratory analysis based on high and low levels of technical and organizational uncertainty revealed more provocative relationships.     

转让定价、公平性感知和子公司业绩

基于组织公平理论的研究成果和转让定价现状,首先用组织公平理论的三维模式从分配公平、程序公平和互动公平三个维度分析了影响转让定价公平性感知的因素,如利润分配、发言权、信任、尊重等,然后探讨了转让定价公平性感知对子公司经理的行为和态度及子公司业绩的影响:公平性感知通过影响子公司经理的态度,如信任及满意度等影响子公司的业绩。最后提出了提升转让定价公平性感知的策略,如建立双向交流的机制、协商式的市场定价方法等,这些对集团转让定价政策机制的制定以及达成其战略目标有一定的指导意义。