MANAGING INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY-TRANSFER NEGOTIATION - A SOCIAL-EXCHANGE PERSPECTIVE

International technology transfer (ITT) is an increasingly important issue in the management of technology. Most of what we know about ITT, an exchange of firm-specific technical knowhow between a technology transferor and a transferee in different countries, is posited in broad economic terms. This study attempts to investigate ITT negotiation from a social exchange perspective, with special reference to ITT negotiation between firms in the USA and China. This approach is applied to data derived from two case studies of ITT negotiation between US and Chinese firms. The ITT exchanges involved are analyzed in terms of rewards in relation to costs (both reckoned in terms of strategic and tactical advantage or disadvantage), possession of power to make things happen, expectations vs. consequences, and conflict. Results show that social and cultural factors, in conjunction with economic factors, exert influence on the eventual outcome of an ITT negotiation. This paper suggests that the application of social exchange theory should enable participants in an ITT to get a better understanding of what is happening and why, and thus to better manage the ITT negotiation process.