1. Technology Transfer
• One of the fundamental processes that influence the economic
performance of nations and firms is technology transfer
• Firms have many ways of exploiting their technological assets for
profitability and growth
• While internal exploitation of technological assets, through designing,
developing, manufacturing, and selling products and processes continues
to be important, interest in their exploitation through technology transfer
has intensified in recent years.
• This is due to globalization, and liberalization of business and greater
emphasis on the protection of intellectual property after the formation of
the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• The main focus of TT is to improve the competitive advantage of firms
through the enhancement of customer value.
• SME’s have begun to utilize technology transfer as a strategic means of
meeting challenges posed by the globalization of business. Due to their
small size and skill resource constraints, they cannot carry out internal
R&D to generate their won technologies but still need a flow of new
technology to be able to compete

2. • The importance of TT from an economic and competitive
perspective , has also stimulated university-industry
technology transfer.
• TT is the process of movement of technology from one entity
to another. The transfer may be said to be successful if the
receiving entity, the transferee, can effectively utilize the
technology transferred and eventually assimilate it .
• The movement may involve physical assets, know-how, and
technical knowledge.
• TT in some situations may be confined to relocating and
exchanging of personnel or movement of a specific set of
capabilities.
• TT has also been used to refer to movements of technology
from the laboratory to industry, developed to developing
countries, or from one application to another domain.

3. Technology Transfer And Technology Diffusion
• Technology Diffusion refers to the spreading, often
passively within a specific technological population,
of technological knowledge related to a specific
innovation of interest to that population.
• Technology Transfer is a proactive process to
disseminate or acquire knowledge, experience and
related artefacts.
• TT is intentional and goal oriented but not a free
process.
• Transfer also presupposes agreement and therefore
involves agreement, unlike diffusion

4. • Technology transfer can be classified as vertical and horizontal
technology transfers.
• Vertical transfers (internal technology transfers) refers to
transfer of technology from basic research to applied research
to development and then to production respectively.
• Horizontal transfers (external technology transfers) refer to
the movement and use of technology used in one place,
organization, or context to another place, organization, or
context.
• TT can be material transfers (transfer of a new material or
product), design transfer (transfer of designs and blueprints
that facilitate the manufacturing by the transferee), and
capacity transfers (transfer of know-how, know-why to adapt,
and modify the material/product to suit requirements.