Innova - Technology Transfer as a Value Creation Process for Modern Trade

The fact that knowledge is a key value engine has brought Industry to enhance it's orientation towards the acquisition of intangible knowledge assets like patens, copyrights, licences in order to achieve a strategic advantage. And now, the major challenge for organisations is to incorporate knowledge onto their business processes, while enhancing and the opportunities. The knowledge intersections among actors operating in the same market generates the development of collaborative technical platforms, scientific networks, thematic groups and the growth of several Internet-based interaction models and virtual communities. All methodologies and approaches are intended to openly share knowledge and technologies which become object of specific transactions among individuals and organisations.

Summary

The paper underlines that the fact that knowledge is a key value engine has brought Industry to enhance it's orientation towards the acquisition of intangible knowledge assets like patens, copyrights, licences in order to achieve a strategic advantage. And now, the major challenge for organisations is to incorporate knowledge onto their business processes, while enhancing and the opportunities. The knowledge intersections among actors operating in the same market generates the development of collaborative technical platforms, scientific networks, thematic groups and the growth of several Internet-based interaction models and virtual communities. All methodologies and approaches are intended to openly share knowledge and technologies which become object of specific transactions among individuals and organisations.

Therefore, on the one hand we all are aware that transactions having as an object the knowledge are a key factor enhancing competitiveness, which is the ability of a company to raise productivity and develop new products, services and on the other hand, Open Innovation concepts have shown how to make it happen in a structured way. The point is that companies positioned at the cross-roads of information exchanges networks, events, web-based communities, informal groups should benefit -in a more organised and conscious way - from the current knowledge-based economy.

Objectives

Increasing interest is raising the knowledge transfer and technology transfer, because it provides a lower-cost (and less risky) alternative to the creation and codification of new knowledge. Knowledge Transfer consists of the range of activities which aim to capture and transmit knowledge (either explicit, such as in patents, or tacit, such as know-how, technological and non –technological as we will see in the first paragraph devoted to Organisational Innovation ), skills and competence from those who generate them to those who can transform them into economic and profitable outcomes.

This paper gives an overview of the many ways to carry out technology transfer. The most common are Open Science, Licensing, Research collaborations, Spin-off creation, but many other forms like for instanceTechnical Training, Researcher Mobility and the creation of Industry University Networks are also interesting channels.

Author

The paper has been written by Aleardo FURLANI, CEO of Innova, in September 2011 for publication by the Italian Trade Commission (ICE).