A conceptual framework for intra-company technology transfer: cases of leveraging production process innovations across MNEs

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) strive to commercialise their knowledge base globally by mobilising their technological competencies, transferring them across organisational boundaries, and selling the resulting systems, products, processes, and services worldwide. However, co-operation within MNEs still leaves potential for improvement, because intra-company transfers of technology as modes of corporate expansion and conquest of new international markets seldom work efficiently. Academic literature has not adequately addressed this important issue. Based on six case studies from MNEs, this paper highlights the challenges of intra-company technology transfer by examining exemplary cases of production process-related technology transfers. It establishes a conceptual framework model for intra-company technology transfers and identifies important success factors.