Lihua, R and Greenwood, D (2000) Technology transfer in international joint venture projects in China. In: Akintoye, A (ed.) Proceedings of 16th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2000, Glasgow, UK.
Abstract
China's rapid economic expansion has resulted in a demand for resources that cannot be satisfied by current local capacity. Its major infrastructure projects are often supported by international funding agencies whose favoured method of delivery is by joint venture between foreign and local organisations. In the interest of promoting sustainable local technical development, the funding agreements often include a contractual requirement for technology transfer. This paper describes the first part of a PhD research project that examines a particular aspect of technology transfer within Sino-foreign joint ventures. The study will concentrate on the more 'tacit' forms of management knowledge, and how these can be transferred through the vehicle of joint ventures between multinational foreign contractors and new generation Chinese construction companies. Based upon the premise that tacit management knowledge is transferred through human interaction, the first objective was to develop a basic benchmark model for the transfer process of management know-how. A pilot case study was carried out to observe the interaction of a number of 'dyads', comprising one foreign and one local manager. The results will be incorporated into a model, which will be developed and tested on a number of current international joint venture projects in China.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | China; joint venture; tacit knowledge; technology transfer; human interaction; international market |
| Index terms: | funding, China, management knowledge, infrastructure project, agreements, agency, foreign contractor, interaction, tacit knowledge, construction company, international market, case study, joint venture, technology transfer, manager |
| Subjects: | Geography, contract formation, data collection methods, economic analysis, professional development, knowledge management, practitioner, business, development economics, infrastructure and transport systems, organization, sociology, behavioral psychology |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, International Construction, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here