Benefits of the case study as a research method for the economic analysis of technology transfer processes

Abstract

There are different interpretations about what technological transfer represents. While some authors understand it as a unidirectional flow of knowledge that is transmitted systematically, others highlight the complexity of a phenomenon that includes problems of adoption, learning and appropriation, transcending the mere act of buying and selling an equipment or a technological package. Adhering to this last position, we consider that it is important to understand the processes, beyond the results, and the incorporation of qualitative research methods that allow us to address the particularities present in these processes.

In this sense, the present work seeks to highlight the importance of the research method based on case studies for the analysis of technology transfer processes. On the one hand, by the possibility of obtaining information directly from the primary sources involved, which allows knowing details that would not be possible to access through literature or databases. And, on the other hand, because it enables a greater internalization in the subject, using both direct observation and interviews with key informants. It seeks to account for a type of methodology that allows us to explore the uniqueness of a particular case to understand the complexity of the more general phenomenon.