The role of technology transfer in innovation within small construction firms

Technology transfer is widely considered to be a potentially powerful source of innovation which can provide construction firms with new technologies that can, where appropriate, transform and complement current technologies to create and sustain better levels of performance (for example, see Kogut and Zander, 1992; Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Sexton et al., 1999). Technology transfer is viewed as the movement of knowledge and technology via some channel from one individual or firm to another (for example, see Devine et al., 1987; Gibson and Smilor, 1991; Inkpen and Dinur, 1998). Further, we take a broad view of technology, defining it as the know-how about the transformation of operational technologies and processes; material technologies; and knowledge technologies (for example, see Hickson et al., 1969; Wilson, 1986).