STRUCTURING A SUCCESSFUL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY

Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin

An effi cient and effective information technology transfer from developed countries to Malaysia is an important issue as a prerequisite to support the ICT needs of the country to become not only a ICT user but also a ICT producer. One of the factors that infl uences successful information technology transfer is managing the process of how technology transfer occurs in one environment. It involves managing interaction between all parties concerned which requires an organized strategy and action toward accomplishing technology transfer objective in an integrated and effective mode. Using a conceptual framework based on the Actor Network Theory (ANT), this paper will analyse a successful information technology transfer process at a private company which is also a supplier of information technology (IT) products to the local market. This framework will explain how the company has come up with a successful technology transfer in a local environment. Our study shows that the company had given interest to its relationships with all the parties involved in the transfer process. The technology transfer programme and the strategy formulated take into account the characteristics of technology and all those involved.  

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-72
Author(s):  
Marcelo De Oliveira Garcia ◽  
Rodrigo Gava ◽  
Dany Flávio Tonelli ◽  
Valéria da Glória Pereira Brito

The process of technology transfer represents a type of social phenomenon that becomes a black box after its completion. That is, access to the process becomes invisible and obscure. The reasons that lead a public researcher to participate in the technology transfer process represented the main concerns to support the research question, whose derived analysis was based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This research contributes to understanding the transfer of technology as a complex phenomenon that features the participation of actors with complex and diverse interests; that is, each technology transfer process is singular in its understanding.


1981 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-93
Author(s):  
S. K. Date-Bah

The patent system has been claimed to be one of the ways of facilitating the transfer of technology from the industrialised North to the less developed countries of the South. It is by no means the only way in which this can be done. For one thing, not all technology is patented. Also, quite often before a patented process can be successfully worked there is need for the transfer of unpatented know-how along with the technology covered by the patent. Besides, it is not the patent itself which enables the transfer of the technology; rather, by making the title and exclusive rights of the patentee secure, it emboldens him to transfer his technology to others for commercial exploitation. Nevertheless, the patent is an important factor in the technology transfer process. As one United Nations report has put it:


Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Arthur Tatnall

Organisations’ reliance on Information Technology (IT) is rapidly increasing. IT strategy is developed and implemented for particular purposes by different organizations. We should therefore expect that there will be network of actors within the computing environment, and that such network of actors will be the key to understanding many otherwise unexpected situations during the development and implementation of IT strategy. This network of actors has aligned interests. Many organizations are developing and implementing their IT strategy, while little is known about the network of actors and their impacts, which this paper reveals. This paper describes how Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was employed to investigate the impact of network of actors on the development and implementation of IT strategy in an organisation. ANT was used as it can provide a useful perspective on the importance of relationships between both human and non-human actors. Another example: design and implementation of a B-B web portal, is offered for comparison.


Author(s):  
Hasmiah Kasimin ◽  
Huda Ibrahim

In Malaysia, major information technology transfers in public sector agencies are usually due to policy implementation. This policy-led technology transfer involves central government directives to the implementation agencies. The technology transfer process usually not only involves multi-organizations that consist of many public agencies and private sector organizations but also involved many phases. Each organization plays certain roles and contributes to the achievement of the technology transfer objectives. Each phase serves a different purpose and each role during each phase has different requirements. Coordinating and encouraging the multiple organization participation in each phase is complex and a challenge that may at least result in project delays or technological decision-making that based on non-technical considerations. In such a case, understanding and managing interactions between stakeholders are important in designing activities and strategies for effective technology transfer process suitable to local environment. This is especially true for technology that requires further development to adapt with local environment. This paper explores this issue in a case study of XYZ technology transfer in a Malaysian public agency. We make use an approach based on actor-network theory and the concepts of technology transfer stages. We found that ignoring issues emerged from interactions between stakeholders will not only delay the transfer process but will also render the project’s original objectives as not fully achieved.


Author(s):  
Imran Muhammad ◽  
Say Yen Teoh ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe

Globally, healthcare reforms are being initiated to address the tremendous challenges facing healthcare systems. Without exception these reforms include the implementation of a variety of e-health solutions. Such e-health solutions are complex and have far reaching implications. In this paper, the authors argue that while these implementations and adoptions of e-health solutions are necessary, it is essential that an appropriate lens of analysis should be used to maximise and sustain the benefits of IS/IT (information systems/information technology) in healthcare delivery. Hence, in this paper, the authors proffer Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as an appropriate lens to evaluate these various e-health solutions and illustrate, in the context of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), the chosen e-health solution for Australia.


Author(s):  
Petronnell Sehlola ◽  
Tiko Iyamu

Many of the IT solutions in an organisation are employed through IT projects. Based on the reliance on IT solutions, organisations’ investment on IT projects has increased tremendously in the last two decades. This is informed and triggered by the premises that IT will help them to yield solutions that will fulfill or exceed their expectations, thereby make the organisation realise the required return on investment. Projects are a means to yield solutions through technological artefacts such as infrastructure (networks included), applications, databases or a combination of these. The technological artefacts do carries or are associated with foreseen or unforeseen risks. Hence proper risk identification and management on IT projects is necessitated to ensure that the organisation reaches its desire state. Unfortunately, risks are never easy to identify or manage. Using one case, the study employed actor-network theory in the analysis of the data to understand the factors which manifest themselves into risks during the deployment of IT projects in the organisation.


Author(s):  
Viktorija Ponomarenko ◽  
Leonids Novickis

The purpose of the research to provide an overview of technology transfer process to potential readers. The topicality of this issue in the world and the state of Latvian research works with the related topic was analyzed and presented in the paper. The author reviewed experiences of colleagues from other universities for identification main concepts used in this field and existing difficulties to perform technology transfer. The anticipated outcome of this review is the identification of information technology transfer model that could be used for transferring research results from Academia to Business Sector.


Author(s):  
Leonie Rowan ◽  
Chris Bigum

The percentages of girls in developing countries undertaking information technology subjects in the post-compulsory years of education has remained persistently low: often under 25%. This is despite the fact that this particular phenomenon has been the subject of sustained international enquiry for at least three decades. This article investigates data collected during an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant project (2005-2007) that aimed to identify some of the contemporary reasons for this under-representation in Australian schools. The original phases of data collection proceeded from the belief that there was a clear and agreed understanding that the low numbers of girls was a problem worthy of analysis. As the project evolved, however, significant differences between the researchers’ perception of the underrepresentation and the participants’ views about the same issue. In this paper we make use of actor-network theory to ask key questions about the extent to which the enrolment of girls in IT is indeed ‘a problem’.


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