9402644 Robinson This dissertation enhancement award supports a 6-month research visit in Japan for Russell Teasley, a graduate student at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, who works under the direction of Professor Richard Robinson. The research is on a comparative study of U.S. and Japanese interorganizational technology transfer, focusing on the computer integrated manufacturing industry. Mr. Teasley will work with Professor Fumio Kodama, Department of Innovation Policy, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan. The objectives of the research project are to collect data from technology transfer projects in Japanese companies in order to test the model of "technology transfer project effectiveness" and to evaluate technology transfer differences between Japanese and U.S. companies. Japanese companies were chosen because of their perceived ability to quickly and effectively develop new products and processes from external, basic-level technologies that are transferred into their organizations. The computer integrated manufacturing industry was chosen because it experiences a high level of interorganizational exchange between basic research and engineering development. The results of this study should contribute to our understanding of Japanese management and cultural practices.
