The Competitive Advantage of Regions and Nations: Technology Transfer Through Foreign Direct Investment

The importance of technology transfer for the competitive advantage of companies and the economic success of nations cannot be overstated. Technology is a determining element for firms and nations to increase productivity, to compete, and to prosper. In The Competitive Advantage of Regions and Nations, the authors stress that companies, investment promotion agencies, and government bodies cannot simply sit and wait until new technologies arrive in their domain. Rather, they need to manage the identification, assessment, attraction, absorption and application of new technologies. In this comprehensive book, Boris Ricken and George Malcotsis explain how technology transfer in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects can be systematically managed. Using some 40 case studies as illustration, they give step-by-step guidance for managers. The explanation of theory in this book, together with the frameworks and cases delivering solutions to the various challenges of technology transfer will be highly appreciated by managers of companies, investment promotion agencies, and government bodies alike. It also offers students confronted with the topic an understandable study guide.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introduction; Part I Theoretical Foundations; Chapter 2 Understanding Technology; Chapter 3 The Importance of Technology; Chapter 4 Theories of Technology Transfer; Chapter 5 Foreign Direct Investment; Chapter 6 FDI and Technology Transfer; Part II The Practical Process; Chapter 7 An Overview of the Practical Processes of Technology Transfer; Chapter 8 Developing a Technology Strategy; Chapter 9 Gathering Information on Technologies; Chapter 10 Technology Assessment; Chapter 11 Technology Attraction; Chapter 12 Technology Absorption; Chapter 13 Technology Application; Chapter 14 Performance Measurement; Chapter 15 Integrated Case Studies; Chapter 16 Summary and Conclusions;

About the Author :
Boris Ricken is responsible for internal projects and process management at PPCmetrics AG, a leading Swiss consulting firm for institutional investors. Dr Ricken has an academic background in the field of business administration (PhD, University of Zürich) as well as political science (Masters, University of Constance, Germany). He has published various books and peer-reviewed papers for international conferences. At Napier University, Edinburgh, UK, he teaches a Technology Transfer and FDI module on the Investment Promotion and Economic Development MSc. programme. He gained practical experience in FDI and technology transfer while being employed at an investment promotion agency. In addition, he was involved in numerous FDI projects working four years as a Senior Strategy Consultant for one of the world's leading building material suppliers, employing some 80'000 people with production sites in around 70 countries. George Malcotsis has a Bachelors and Masters in Engineering from the Universities of Surrey and London and a Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, England. He began his career in a teaching and research position at the University of Cambridge. From 1976 to 1990 he worked for a major internationally active engineering consulting firm in Switzerland eventually becoming president. In 1990 he joined KPMG Switzerland, as a partner at director level, to head the international management consulting division. He was managing director of SOFI, the Swiss Organisation for Facilitating Investments. He is visiting professor at the Napier University Business School in Edinburgh, Scotland. His special field of research and teaching is business planning and intercultural business negotiations. Through managing business operations in over 80 countries, Dr Malcotsis has gained extensive international experience and an ability to operate across cultural barriers. In 2007 he became Partner of DIAS.

Review :
'Drs Ricken and Malcotsis address the importance for developing countries to adopt public policies that focus on growth with knowledge, through the attraction of new FDI, involving technology transfer. This is now and will remain in the near future, vital for the development of regions. The book will certainly become a reference for investment promotion agencies and nations as well, to generate best practices in the modern procedures of technology transfer and FDI' - Esteban G. Rosas, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, State of Durango, Mexico '... a unique trail-blazer in its genre. The Competitive Advantage of Regions and Nations by two erudite authors gives valuable insight into the practical dimensions of the subject and is further enriched by careful theoretical analysis. This book is an invaluable compendium for scholars and practitioners of investment promotion and economic development.' - Adesoji Adesugba, Chairman of the Industrial Arbitration Panel of Nigeria