Ebook: Technology Transfer from South African Technology Stations to Their SME Clients: a Case Study of the Twelve Technology Stations : A Case Study of the Twelve Technology Stations

It is widely held that technology transfer is closely linked to a nation's economic development. For this reason, the South African government assigned twelve technology stations to support small and medium sized enterprises (SME). The main aim of these stations is the transfer of technology from the universities, where they are housed, to the SMEs in scientific areas ranging from biotechnology to agriculture. This study delivers a detailed analysis of each technology station and offers an explanation as to why some technology stations are more successful than others.This study focuses on the influence of the organizational culture on technology transfer and employs Cultural Theory to analyze, categorize and thereby compare the culture types of the organizations being studied. A few other interesting discoveries are also made by this study: that Grid/Group Cultural Theory can be utilized in the methodology of a study to determine the organizational culture of any organization; that if the impact of organizational culture on technology transfer can be determined empirically, then the impact of organizational culture on other factors can also be determined empirically; and that if organizational culture can be used to determine the success of technology transfer, then it can probably determine the success of other organizations, irrespective of what service that organization provides.