TEchNOLOGy TRaNSFER MODEL - Javna agencija

KNOWLEDGE FOR BUSINESS IN BORDER REGIONS
knowledge transfer process than in the later phases. The investigation has shown that this seems to be correct, but underlines that
contacting the research institution depends on the type of problem the company is faced with; therefore, either the generation of
ideas or the realization of ideas is affected. Furthermore, we supposed that, with reference to the innovation process, the completion
of information exchange occurs between the phases “acceptance of ideas” and “realization of ideas”. Half of the respondents agree
to this hypothesis while half of them argued that they also exchange knowledge in the realization phase but, if so, not later than the
prototype is manufactured.
The complexity of this topic often leads to difficulties in supporting the transfer of external knowledge and the integration of the
knowledge in the innovation processes of the enterprise. Primarily there are no existing methods which could really support the
management of knowledge transfer projects, the two discussed in the following section are more or less something like a guideline
through the project and could provide a deeper understanding.
6.5.1 The knowledge transfer-innovation process matrix
The combination of the transfer process and the innovation process within the matrix should lead to a better understanding of the
complex dependencies between these processes and should be helpful in order to structure them. This matrix is a tool to a) define
working packages, b) describe desired aims or results and c) to allocate responsibilities. Considering these positive aspects it must
nevertheless be mentioned that this tool defines the processes in a very rough way without going into detail and should be further
developed for the specific co-operation project.
Figure 13: The knowledge transfer-innovation process matrix
6.5.2 The Scalable Innovation Process
The Scalable Innovation Process was developed by an author team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering
and is a transfer model which especially enables SMEs to start co-operation projects with research institutions or universities. The idea
behind is the development of a network which supports the transfer of knowledge between these organizations.
The following tables show each phase of the Scalable Innovation Process with its specific aims, with the methods which could be
used, with the results which should be gained and the possible forms of transfer.
The main aim of this first creative phase of the innovation process is the identification of problems and suitable partners. Therefore,
the questions are defined in a very broad way and the results could vary as well.
Figure 14: Phase 1 - Search for ideas
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