A Study in The Problems of Technology Transfer
The problems associated with the transfer of technology are too many. There are various Indian corporate entities who tie up with multinational companies for import of modern and state-of-the-art technologies to achieve faster growth as it would take a longer gestation time to develop these indigenously. But these companies encounter some problems
Identification of the technology proves to be a very difficult area as most of the companies depend on sources like product bulletin and information provided by the company which are obviously biased in favour of the supplier companies. In the absence of any independent agency which can guide them the problem becomes all the more intractable. Trade exhibitions and personal are the most used means to select the right technology. There is also the risk of getting second-level technology which may have been already exploited by the supplier.
Once the identification process is over, translating it into a well-defined document which is also known as agreement is the next difficulty. Technologies can not be transferred in a single exercise of transfer of documents. This may have to be done through transfer of designs and drawings, supply of additions and improvements made by the technology supplier. Then there is the question of providing the services of the experts and training of Indian personnel at the place of the technology supplier. All these questions need to be addressed before a successful technology transfer agreement is concluded.
Another formidable challenge that most of the technology transfer agreements encounter is the task of indegenization of the technology. While the technology supplier wants the recipient company to achieve the same level of quality to be able to compete in the national and international markets, the achievement of this goal is fraught with practical difficulties. Product quality depends upon the quality of inputs and the processes adopted and the quality of the raw material available in the recipient country not being the same it becomes problematic to indegenize the technology.
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