Institutional Entrepreneurship and International Technology Transfer: A Theoretical Model
Transitional economies are always the main institutional actors in need of technology transfer.When introducing new technology, new institution must be initiatively constructed for the new technology so as to pave the way for realizing the value of technology.From this perspective, its apparent that the research of international technology transfer is closely related with that of institutional entrepreneurship.The structure of a technology coming into being in the institutional environment of the home country must have been subject to the institutional environment of its home country, because only when this technology is embedded in its home institution can legitimacy and subsequent benefits be obtained;when a technology is placed in a different institutional context, its legitimacy formed in the home country wont be successfully spilled over in accordance with the original diffusion mechanism, in which case, concerted efforts of both sides promoting technology transfer are needed to establish a unique legitimate formation mechanism in the host country and improve the legitimacy of the new technology in a new institutional context, thereby creating excessive value and realizing the significance of technology transfer.Therefore this article has been focused on the relationship between international technology transfer and institutional entrepreneurship and believes that the institutional entrepreneurship is the only way out when entrepreneurial enterprises are confronted with the predicament at institutional level (such as transitional economy, emerging industries, technology transfer, organizational field turbulence, etc.).Through processing the literatures on institutional entrepreneurship and technology transfer, and based on theories such as institutional theory, resource-based view , transaction cost theory and agency theory, come the following conclusions: only when the institution that affects technology diffusion is absent can institutional entrepreneurship be triggered;there is nothing else but institutional entrepreneurship that can help technology transfer obtain long-term and sustainable competitive advantage as well as excessive economic rent.In the absence of a formal institution, the informal institution (social norm, relations and network) will play an important role in terms of technological legitimacy.When the institutional distance is negative (from mature to immature), the recipient will make use of the spillover effect of the legitimacy in its home country and strive for institutional entrepreneurship to ensure the legitimacy of the technology and the accompanying excessive profits.At the early stage of technology transfer, the primary mechanism of technology diffusion is imitation mechanism and regulatory mechanism.When the institutional distance is positive, the recipient of the technology transfer will comply with the institution of the host country, seek for protection of the existing institution, and is less likely to take institutional entrepreneurship measures.At the beginning of the technology transfer, the primary mechanism of technology diffusion is mandatory mechanism.During the process of technology transfer, the technological importer which takes the form of wholly-owned enterprise will be more likely to benefit from the legitimacy spillover effect in its home country to the state of institutional entrepreneurship, and eventually enhance the technological legitimacy;in the midst of technology transfer, the recipient taking the way of a joint venture may improve its technology legitimacy by complying with the institution of its home country.In a word, the conclusion drawn from this article will not only provide an interesting perspective for researchers in their study of technology transfer and institutional entrepreneurship but also serve as guidance for those enterprises faced with international technology transfer problems in reality.
institutional entrepreneurship international technology transfer legitimacy institutional distance
Xu Erming Yang Hui
School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing, P.R.China, 100872
国际会议
2013 International Conference on Strategic Management(2013年战略管理国际会议)
成都
英文
179-196
2013-12-15（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）