The role of cultural factors on intra-firm technology transfer performance and corporate sustainability: A conceptual study

• Main Authors: Syed Ali Fazal, Sazali Abdul Wahab, Nowshin Zarin, Abu Sofian Bin Yaacob, Nur Fadiah Mohd Zawawi
• Format: Non-Indexed Article
• Published: Canadian Center of Science and Education 2016
• Online Access: http://discol.umk.edu.my/id/eprint/8470/; http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/57579

Technological innovations have emerged as crucially significant factor for sustaining market competition and achieving sustainable competitive advantage in the 21st century. The Multinational Corporations (MNCs) as celebrities of innovation play significant role in diffusing technological knowledge throughout firms both nationally and internationally. Although numerous studies exist on technology transfer the majority of existing literature addresses the issues related to inter-firm transfer of technology only while the area related to intra-firm transfer of technology has been largely underexposed; study of which is believed to be ideal for fruitful exploration of profitability in technology transfer projects. By exploring the existing relevant literature, the current study would attempt to posit a new model in regards to the effect of host-country cultural environment on the performance of technology transferred by the MNCs to their subsidiaries in Malaysia and its subsequent impact on the corporate sustainability of the firm. In the present study the relative influence of two cultural environment factors, namely national cultural distance and organizational cultural distance have been addressed and the study is expected to contribute both theoretically in the body of knowledge and also in terms of practical implication for policy makers of the host-country and the involved MNCs and hence enriching the existing intra-firm technology transfer literature simultaneously.