Technology Transfer from the Multinational Firms’ Perspective: A Systematic Literature Review

This paper investigates the phenomenon of technology transfer (TT) from the standpoint of multinational corporations (MNCs) through a systematic literature review approach. We employed a PRISMA flow diagram to identify 740 articles from Scopus and Web of Science based on specific keywords. After applying filters and removing duplicates, we analyzed 97 papers across various industries. Our review adhered to established protocols, and we utilized NVivo software to code the results, discussions, and conclusions of the articles analyzed. Our findings illuminated different types of TTs, both the positive and negative aspects of the TT process, highlighting essential intra-firm and inter-firm factors influencing TT in multinationals and the challenges encountered at different stages. While the governance aspect is a key element of TT, the papers we reviewed did not concentrate on this area. However, finding a suitable TT type and mechanism is essential for the MNCs to realize a successful TT process. The literature mainly focused on the intra-firm TT process, and we cannot see the direction of TT mentioned in the papers. This is one of the problems of the MNC TT process, which led to an unsuccessful TT process.