Objective:

We assess the applicability and relevance of KFs for the transfer of technology to rural enterprises through university – industry – government (UIG) collaboration in developing economies.

Prior work:

We build on prior literature pertaining key factors (KFs) for the technology transfer by Sanchez Preciado, Claes & Theodorakopoulos, 2013 and Theodorakopoulos, Sanchez Preciado & Bennet, 2012.  Specifically we evaluate the importance of technology transfer factors such as i) the level of absorptive capacity developed, ii) the amount of profit returns from the transferred technologies, iii) the degree to which the organization has overcome cultural and geographic factors, iv) the market value of the technologies, v) the existence of a technology broker and vi) the sophistication of the knowledge infrastructure in the collaborative triad of industry, university and government

Approach:

Using a qualitative research approach, we use the theoretical lenses of institutional theory and situated learning theory to assess these KFs in the context of two small-scale rural enterprises respectively involved in pisciculture (fish farming) and coffee production in the Cauca region of Colombia. These two enterprises have been in business for more than 15 years, have well-established internal and external networks and constitute exemplar cases of social and economic growth and organisational innovation.

Results:

Our study validates the KFs identified by Sanchez Preciado et al (2013) and demonstrates how these factors are influenced by the social capital (Coleman, 2001) generated in the process of transferring technology between the actors.

Implications:

We extend the work of authors like Tortoriello and Krackhardt (2010), who argue that spanning organizational boundaries (bridging ties) has a positive impact on the generation of innovations.

Value:

The contribution of our paper is twofold. First we make a contribution to the literature on situated learning by applying this theory in a research context that goes beyond a single functional area to a generic organizational level consisting of individuals with different functional or cultural backgrounds. Second, our paper contributes to the literature on the transfer of technology through UIG collaboration in that it focuses on low-tech and organisational technologies rather than the high-tech solutions generally discussed in that body of literature. Also, it investigates KFs for technology transfer to small rural enterprises in developing countries rather than to more advanced organizations in more developed countries mostly discussed elsewhere.