Title: Organisation of international external technology acquisition projects

Authors: Ulrich Lichtenthaler, Eckhard Lichtenthaler

Addresses: Chair for Technology and Innovation Management, Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management (WHU), Burgplatz 2, D-56179 Vallendar, Germany. ' Technology and Innovation Management, Center for Enterprise Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: International external technology acquisition has become more and more important since the mid 1980s. Large companies may carry out more than 100 external technology acquisition projects simultaneously with partners all over the world and face the challenge of choosing adequate organisation types for these projects. In this paper, a concept for the localisation of external technology acquisition projects has been developed based on existing research results. Following this concept, adequate methods of coordination for different types of localisation are presented along a process model of external technology acquisition.

Keywords: external technology acquisition; knowledge creation; knowledge transfer; project management; technology transfer; international R&am;D management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2004.005084

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2004 Vol.3 No.3, pp.291 - 307

Published online: 26 Aug 2004 *

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