Virtual R&D Team: Technology Transfer Facilitator

Nader Ale Ebrahim
University of Malaya - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering

Mohammad Ali Shafia
University of Science and Technology - Faculty of Industrial Engineering

Hamid Tahbaz Tavakoli
The R&D Society of Iranian Industries and Mines



18th International Conference on Management of Technology, 2009

Abstract:
A conceptual model is proposed which facilitate the process of technology transfer by applying a virtual R&D team. The underlying hypothesis is responded to competitive challenges, the complex customer requirements and the high instability on the market. The context of the knowledge-based economy introduces a major shift from serial to simultaneous R&D activities in the way technology transfer is conceived. The traditional model of R&D team work is relies on the visual and face-to-face teams. The complexities involved in organizing face-to-face interactions among team members from one side, and the rapid developments of electronic communication technologies from the other ,caused firms to turn towards employing virtual R&D teams. The paper postulates that in the new perspective, virtual R&D team to be considered as a specific technology transfer means. It depends on the ways firms and other institutions are managing them, in particular the co-evolution of their absorptive capabilities and their technology conveying strategies. To support the theoretical analysis, this paper provides a comprehensive review based on authentic and reputed publications.

Keywords: Virtual R&D team; Technology Transfer; Conceptual model

SSRN-Virtual R&D Team: Technology Transfer Facilitator by Nader Ale Ebrahim, Mohammad Ali Shafia, Hamid Tahbaz Tavakoli