Managing expectations, issues and challenges of technology transfer in a Malaysian-French joint venture company / Azman Amarashikin, Roslan Yusuff and Clarence Jews

This study entitles "Managing Expectations, Issues and Challenges of Technology Transfer of in a Malaysian-French Joint Venture Company" is a descriptive quantitative and qualitative study with the objectives of: (i)To identify the general strategy of technology transfer of in a Malaysian-French Company; (ii) To find out the expectations of the JV company's managers and operation personnel of the outcome of the joint-venture; (iii) To determine the issues and challenges of technology transfer faced by managers and operation personnel in the JV Company; (iv) To determine the relationship between expectation for success and issues and challenges of technology transfer faced by manager and operation personnel in the JV Company; and (v) To provide recommendations on how to improve technology transfer in the JV Company. The study was carried out at Sapangar Bay, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah involving all 40 staffs comprising of 16 French Expatriates (the experts, technology donors) and 24 Malaysian engineers/managers (technology recipients). Survey using self-constructed questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to gather data. SPSS Version 16.0 was used to analyze data with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that the 75% of respondents expected the technology transfer to fail and cultural differences and communication were the main issues/challenges faced by staffs in this JV. It was recommended that cultural conflict management through training and adoption of an organizational culture that recognize diversity should be in place, along with effective and efficient communication programs. Further studies were recommended to measure the JV performances and validity of the time frame (3 years) for successful joint venture to happen.