ABSTRACT

Research on the international transfer of technology in economics and management literature has primarily focused on the role of countries and that of companies, in particular multinational enterprises (MNEs). Similarly, economic and business historians have tended to view international technology transfer as a way for economically ‘backward’ countries to acquire new technologies in order to catch up with more developed economies. This volume provides a more in-depth understanding of how the international transfer of technologies is organized and, in particular, challenges the core-periphery model that is still dominant in the extant literature.

By looking beyond national systems of innovation, and statistics on foreign trade, patent registration and foreign direct investment, the book sheds more light on the variety of actors involved in the transfer process (including engineers, entrepreneurs, governments, public bodies, firms, etc.) and on how they make use of a broad set of national and international institutions facilitating technology transfer. Put differently, the volume offers a better understanding of the complexity of global technology flows by examining the role and actions of the different actors involved. By bringing together a number of original case studies covering many different countries over the period from the late 19th to the 21st century, the book demonstrates how technology is being transferred through complex processes, involving a variety of actors from several countries using the national and international institutional frameworks.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction

part I|65 pages

The International Patent System

chapter 2|21 pages

Why Did Multinationals Patent in Spain?

Several Historical Inquiries *

chapter 3|20 pages

The Adoption of American Patent Management in Japan

The Case of General Electric *

part II|62 pages

The Role of Cartels

chapter 4|25 pages

European Cartels and Technology Transfer

The Experience of the Rayon Industry, 1920–1940 1

chapter 5|18 pages

Big Business, Inter-Firm Cooperation and National Governments

The International Aluminium Cartel, 1886–1939 *

part III|51 pages

Learning from Foreign Firms

chapter 7|14 pages

Technological Transfers in Argentina's Early Industrialization

Agents and Paths, 1900–1930

chapter 9|25 pages

Foreign Technologies and Domestic Capital

The Rise of Independent Automobile Makers in China, 1990s–2000s

part IV|55 pages

Engineers as Intermediaries

chapter 12|15 pages

Agents of Change

Bell System Employees and Quality Assurance Knowledge Transfer in Postwar Japan, 1945–1955

chapter |5 pages

Afterword

Technology Transfer and the Competitive Advantages of Regions