November 1998
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Technology is at the core of both products and processes, so to improve competitiveness and access markets it must be acquired, absorbed and developed. Moreover, as manufacturing has become more globalised, technology is also increasingly being transferred as part of collaborations between companies and has therefore effectively become a commodity in itself. It can be sold for a direct financial return or exchanged for a share in the local market, for example when being transferred through foreign direct investment from developed to the newly developing economies. This paper describes the concept of a “technology valuation and collaboration” model that has been developed using empirical data gathered from along the UK-China value chain for machine tool technology. It can be used to assist the negotiations and ongoing technology transfer arrangements of manufacturing companies that are supplying or acquiring technology.