Technology transfer in a complex environment

Summary form only given as follows. Over the course of 100 years, strategic managers have been developing strategies and techniques to achieve a competitive advantage and position their organizations for success. In today´s economic climate, the implementation of new technology is often the difference between success and failure of the firm. This paper suggests that the competitive environment is a major factor that influences the technology transfer and adoption with a business. The modern competitive environment is constantly changing and is becoming increasingly dynamic suggesting those traditional methods for technology transfer and implementation can be enhanced with the application of a “new science”. The “new sciences” that influence this transfer process include chaos, and complexity theories. Together these disciplines expose a world of bounded uncertainty, unpredictable change, self-organization, and complex relationships. More importantly, however, the new sciences are multidisciplinary and have established a new trend in thinking; it bases theory and practice on, a holistic view of the world. Despite its proliferation since the 1970s, there has been relatively little application of the new sciences in the field of technology transfer and implementation. This paper develops a technology transfer framework based on two of the new sciences-chaos and complexity. The chaos and complexity technology transfer framework provides the generic guidelines for establishing strategic goals, policies, and boundaries for technology transfer within a complex and dynamic competitive environment