THE TRANSFER AND COMMERCIALISATION OF TECHNOLOGY FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO FOREIGN MARKETS IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

International technology transfer (ITT) processes are complex, risky, and often fail. When financial services organisations have the opportunity to transfer their business model and core technologies to a foreign market, comprehensive research into the technology and the market is compulsory. Numerous applicable theories and models in technology transfer were reviewed to develop a comprehensive ITT model. Interviews with key individuals and focus group sessions were used to rank factors that affect the success of ITT in the financial services industry - specifically, a case in the direct short term insurance industry. These success factors were implemented in the developed market evaluation model where the user is required to enter evaluation values for each factor. The evaluation model then delivers a value that represents the market potential. This model can be used to evaluate one market or many potential markets. There are two factors that an organisation must always be aware of: the influence stakeholders have on the ITT process, and what ITT strategy is employed. Further research is proposed to validate the developed model beyond the specific case study.