An assessment of the determinants of packaging in technology transfer to developing countries: a theoretical and empirical study

The primary aim of this thesis-is to expound and elaborate the-conceptof "packaging" in international technology-transfer transactions, boththeoretically and empirically. Certain hypotheses concerning the determinantsof the packaging level in transfer transactions are put forward and subsequentlyexamined in the light of empirical findings.The basic theoretical framework is elaborated within the first eightchapters. Apart from expounding relevant concepts, these discuss the varietyof methods which may be utilized to transmit technology, drawing substantiallyon published theories and field studies. The notion of "packaging" isexplored and five levels of packaging are put forward, whereby the differenttransfer methods are categorized, accordingly.Some of these chapters are concerned with matters closely allied todecisions regarding the packaging level. These include the role played bythe country's technological infrastructure, financial aspects of technologytransmission,and the causes and effects of State legislation, policy,and regulation.The last eight chapters are devoted to the two-fold task of analysing Iraq'sexperience in technology-acquisition and the methodology and findings ofthe empirical study. The role of the State in industrial development andtechnology-transfer is elucidated, with primary emphasis on the decade ofthe 1970's. Also, the parts played by the private and mixed sectors areassessed, and the changes in the country's imports of technology productsanalysed.After initiating contact with a sample of British firms, a group wasfinally chosen after ascertaining that they had exported manufacturingequipment to Iraq. These companies were visited, resulting thereby in acore sample of 32 transfer cases. In each case relevant information wasobtained from the visited firm. The data were subsequently analysed toderive the general features of the transactions in question, and the varioushypotheses were subjected to statistical testing.The results of these tests have proved negative in some cases and positivein others. Accordingly certain quantitative relationships have beenestablished, which express the association of the level of packaging witha few relevant variables.