TECHNOLOGY-TRANSFER TO DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES THROUGH ENGINEERING FIRMS - THE CANADIAN EXPERIENCE

This article presents the results of an empirical study conducted on some 50 major international projects conducted by the 36 largest Canadian consulting engineering firms in developing countries. The study concludes that - contrary to the neoclassical assumption of cost-free information adoption - technology transfer costs are positive and mostly concentrated in the area of training; it also finds that successful transfers involves a specific set of capabilities and are usually conducted through joint ventures between the transferor and the transferee, that successful transferees often conduct research and development, do not suffer from host-government restrictions, and are not usually located in Africa.