tu"Lnals of Library SCler;ce ",nc'DClcument:at:ion1981, 2£(1-4), 1-13.

}],,,TfOr~hl A.TIOl'~ ~ CO hlI\1ljl~I C~ATIOI~ AJ,JDl'ECI-Il~OLOG\7 lI(ANSFEr~.:A IcE\'IE\VOF LITERATURE

Def i nes the corczept:s of scier..:Je, techno-logy ard t.echnol.oqu tpa"rwfer~. Deecr-i.be e t.ha

tihi-ee s tace e i.n teCh?Dlo::::-1 trar£te:<I., rame lu ideage~el'~~t~o~,.probZ~m solV~Z;~~ an..'i i'''''r,Z.eme;?"t,.:::ztioH:211a d1..,f.:us':..-oY... Iri ecue see ~he type~ SO;iPC6, and~hc:nne Le 0'":'"' ir:.-"c::,vT.:.ztioi1 uS{3d ur..der~ tr:.8 above=}pee stages a:: tec':Y7..oZoe"J t!'·Q.".;s.:~·e"!'J.

I NTRODUCTI ON

Before initiating such a topic, it willbe appropriate to consider the definitions andconcepts of science, technology and technologytransfer. Science and technology in fact are notquite separate. For convenience, however, one~~y state that science is persued for the sake ofknowledge and insight. Technology is essentiallyan applied science. It is a codified way ofdQingthings based on scientific knowledge coupled withexperience to suit specific conditions. Scienceis investigating, measuring, understanding andacquisition of knowledge. Technology constructs,creates, accomplishes with the application ofknowledge. Technology is also specific and it isthe application of science to the solving of welldefined problems. While scientific knowledgemay have wide applications and form the basis ofseveral technologies, technology is developedalong a much narrow front. For example, thethermodynamical principles of internal combustionengine are well known but the technology ofpetrol engines will vary in detail to meet eachapplication and to satisfy local conditions. Thisdoes not of course, mean that there is no inter-action between technologies or that a need cannotbe satisfied by more than one technological route(e.g. a control can be actuated by mechanical,electrical, hydraulic means). But once the tech-nological route has been chosen, the developmentof that technology becomes increasingly specific.

In earlier times, the technologicalprogress or achievements were possibly based on

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dec) 1981

B.M. GUPTACentre for the Study of Science,Technology and DevelopmentCSIR Complex at NPLNew Delhi-I 10012

empirical knowledge and age long experience and"tricks of trade" with little cross-fertilizationfrom science. For example, the invention ~ftelegraphy was achieved without the developmentof relevant equations describing the-signals orwires. But today's technology is closely depend-ent upon science, and technology in turn promotesscience, stressing the need for intimate inter-action between science and technology.

Technology spectrum covers the know-howrelated to process and product; design andengineering; erection; corrrnissioningand produc-tion; performance testing and marketability.Technology involves patents, design, trade marks,technological data, ability to put things to-gether, to make things work, to develop andsatisfy the customer.

Technology transfer is essentially acoupling between people whQ produce technologyand those who need it. A very broad-based defi-nition has been attempted by Brooks l whi ch des-cribes it as "The process by which science andtechnology are diffused throughout the humanact ivity . Vlherever systematic rationa 1 knowledgedeveloped by one group or institution is embodiedina way of doing things by other institutions.This can be either transfer from mere basic know·ledge into technology or adaptation of an exist-ing technology to a new use. Technology transf~rdiffers from ordinary scientific informationtransfer in the fact that to be really transfer-red it must be embodied in an actual operation ofsome kind". Brooks extends this discussion torecognize two types of transfer, which he desig-nates as "vertical" and "horizontal". Verticaltransfer is the process by which the technologyis transferred from the more general to the morespecific, for instance, by the incorporation ofnew scientific knowledge into technology and bythe embodiment of a "state of the art" into asystem. Horizontal transfer involves the adapta-tion of technology from one application to ano-

ther. The success of technology transfer dependsupon several fa~ors such as: tec~no1ogy genera-tor. receiver. channels and technlques of trans-mitter. and the climate.

The process of technological transfercan be broken into the following three stages forthe purpose of simplificati?n of idea generat~onand design concept formulatl?n;, pr?blem S?lVlngand engineering; and commerclallzatlon or lmple-mentation and diffusion.

It is generally believed t~at informa-tion and communication playa very lmportant rolein the process of technology transfer and thisbelief has been strengthened by numerous,empiri-cal studies. This paper attempts to reVlew alarge number of such studies under the threestages of technology transfer mentioned earlier.

2. IDEA-GENERATIONAmong the numerous factors that influ-

ence the succesS or failure of a research groupinvolved in technology transfer, creativity ofits members and process of idea-generation by theteam as a whole are most important. Successfulgeneration of ideas for new,or impr?ved productsrequire ~ base of reliable 1nf?rma~10n. E~en themost creative individuals requlre lnformat10ninput in order to release their potential, Ther~fore it is important to be aware of the type,sources and channels of information utilized inidea-generation. -The idea-generation phase isoperationally defined to extend from th~ t1me o~ _the first communication related to the 1dea untllthe time at which a proposal is written or atwhich the work is funded, or at which the majoreffort of atleast one person is directed towardswork on the idea. Now before we study this, itwill cre necessary to look at the idea-generationprocess as such. Figure I pro~id~s a simpl i'f~edmodel of the process involved in idea-qeners tion.

PIU. 1: 'Tiotl r v SI,:)" woo U. 0' \0[.

G E 'tt~A:T\O"

I.,. HJR)t,A1J,:)JII \

--,.---'.

~?EQC£P1"Ic." \-:. c ·-;~E.O

;( E.:::.6\iIT:U. !J :l;JPCi;.;~'T)'

~ ..• • J II

.¥--- . -.~.'..'::-;.~~L ,.:;!,

GUPTA

This model is based on the assumptionthat innovative idea emerges as a fusion of aperceived organizational need or problem or oppor-tunity relevant to organizational objectives withthe recognition of technical opportunity or meansor techniques by which to satisfy the need, solvethe problem or capitalise on the opportunity2,3.The definition of the problem will depend upon thekind of information that the problem solver isexposed to. The need may have existed for a longtime, it may be rather new or it may be latent.The solution of the problem will emerge as a tech-nical opportunity, the character of which is alsodependent on the kind of informa tion recei ved. Itmay be stored information in terms of knowledgereceived earlier through studies, practical ex-perience, etc or, direct information acquired inconnection with a specific problem through printed.ma teria1 or by talking to people. The event 1ead-ing to the recognition of relevant need, problemor opportunity may be termed as "need- event" ,whilethe event leading to the recognition means ortechnique may be referred to as the "mean event"The recognition of "need" and "means" interactwith the innate creative ability of the researcherin a complex manner to genera te an idea. A 1argenumberQf !ese~rchers like Globe et a14, Langrishet a15, Myers and Marquis6 have studied the re~lative importance of these events in innovations.According to them it appears that- a large numberof innovations are initiated by the discovery ofan opportunity. On the other hand, mo~ incremen-tal or improvement innovations which representthe major part of the innovations in industrialcompanies start by 'receiving information that leadto thi perception of a need, which then triggersoff a technological solution, Now the still moreimportant question is "how does the recognitiontake place and what is the mechanism where anidea is created. Pruthi and Nagpa17 have provideda simplified model of idea-generation processes.They have hypthesised the following precondi-tions for the generation of an idea:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

A certain level of information in themind of a scientist;Existence of the problem situation and itsrecognition by the scientist;Its ability to relate the inforrr.ationtothe problem;A trigger which gives a quantum jump tohis information level and makes it criti-ca1.

This trigger ~ay be provided externallyby an encounter 'flith1 iterature, experiment andanalysis or interaction with a s~ientist insideor outside the group. Alternatively it may beprovided internally by his own thinking processrneoretiC3l1y, tner e should be only cne trig(jer",:'11ch 1'~JI_~S to -3 3:...:d(~e!1 j:.·:"'P 1:i ::".e ~-:~G~~:--'3t,i:;nl evel , but in their stud; Fr:J::hi -11"; :i3<jCJal!r!:l'le

Ann Lib Sci Doc

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

found ce~tain cases w~erein more than one trigger~~s i entified which occurred almost simultaneous-ly an the scientists were not able to recall ast(" Wtl ch tri?9(r occurl-Ed first and ~!~ich trigger1e s t .

::. 1 lj~es. Sources ~nd Cnannels of Infor~a-ti~n uSEd i~ IdE~-SenerEt~O~

2.11 Types of Infor~ationTo begin with it will be interesting to

know what type of information is stimulus toidea-generation. Goldhar et a18 in one of theirstudies has analyzed the winners of IR-I00 awar-ds, and characterised the stimulus informationas of two types - Technical (T) or Economic (E).The results of this study are indicated in Table1. which indicate that economic informati~n wasresponsible for about 70~ of the time for thestimulus of their innovation. This split betweentechnical and economic information is.cnnsists!ntwi th the 307; means, 70~ needs s t imulus oivistor..In addition, 169 respondants out of 300 reported·that the greatest value type of informationslimulating their innovation was a type whichthey received regularly, while 130 reported theopposite. Of these 54% of means stimulated inno-vators reported, being stimulated by informationof a type not regularly received while only 31~of need stimulated innovators reported thestimulus as having come from an irregular type ofinformation.2.12 Sources of Information

Now turning to the sources of stimulusinformation, a large number of studies have beencarried out in this area which have stressed oremphasised the role of intetnal and exterrialsources as the major stimulants of technologicalinnovation. Among the stodies which rated highthg internal sources are by Holt9,10 Goldhar etal , Project SAPPHOll, and Boldon CommitteeEnquiry on Small Firmsl2. Project SAPPHO hasstudied 86 innovations, 43 successful and 43 un-successful in two industries namely Chem icelp~ocesses and Scientific Instruments. It wasfound that 53% of the ideas were stimulated byinterna 1 sources. Bo 1 ton Conmi ttee of Enqui rywas another study which sought tQe contributionto post-war innovations in the U.K. from firmsof different sizes. The study classified thesources of ideas which led to initiation of 1667important successful innovations in the manufac-turing industry by different size of firms. Itw~s reported that major portion of these ideascame from internal sources. The results of the~tudv arp. presented in Table 2.

Holt has studied the product dp.velopmentin 30 Norwegian companies. He found that inter-

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dee) 1981

TABLE 1TYPE OF I~FOR~~T!O~ REPORTED HAVING GREATEST

V,'..LUE::AS S1 I!ULUS ro WiCN'; TIO:.

TYPE of lnf orms t ion Re;)orted asGreatest Value

Genercl I·iad:etr:eed (E)Your Own Recogni t ion of a lie v:Techno loq ical Possibility (T)

Specific New Technical Infor-mation (T)A Specific Client's Need (E)Your Own Recognition of a NewEconomic Opportunity (E)

Generally Available TechnicalData (T)Firm's Need for a NewProduct (E)A Different Innovation (T)A Production Requirement (T)Your Firm's Need to Offer aCompetetive Product (E)A Need· to Reduce ProductionCosts (E)

A Need to Reduce Product'sSelling Price (E)

24

23

1412

7

7

422

1

o

Note: ET

Economic Information ;Technical Information.

TABLE 2INTERNAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION STIMULATION

IDEA-GENERATION

Size of FirmPercentage of

InternalSources

StimulatingInnovation

Small 70.55Medium 65.65Large 48.87

Total 53.74

3

~-- ..--.-.'

nal sources played the major role in idea-genera-tion. Among the important internal sourcesreported, were R&D Department followed by SalesDepartment, Top Management and Production Depart-ment. Similarly in the study of Goldhar et al,78% of the respondants reported that most impor-tant sources were the Internal (I). Among these,the major ones are: Innovator's prior experierceand training (48%), technical co11~ague withinthe firm (12%), client or customer (6%), companymarketing group (4%), etc. Regularity of thesource was also studied which was reported by 168respondants. While 132 respondants indicatedthat most important source stimulating theirinnovation was a irregular one. 53% of themeans-stimulated innovators reported a irregularsource of information while 41% of the needstimulated innovators reported similarly.

On the other side,there were studies byMyers anG Marquis~ Mue11er,Langrish13,Utterback14, etc, which have emphasised theimportance of external sources in idea genera-tion. The results of these studies are presen-ted in Table 3. Similar l'gdications are also

. shown by studies of Peter and Gordon H). Gordonin a study of 223 proposals for projectsinvolving social-psychological aspects of dtseasealso reports that consultation outside the worksetting tends to increase the idea-generation.Peter studied the data concerning faculty infour Department at :~assachuetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT), USA. He reported that 96% ofthe faculty members reporting innovative ideasare engaged in outside consulting as opposed to55% of those not reporting ideas.

TABLE 3SOURCES OF IDEAS CONTRIBUTING TO IDEA-GENERATION

Identification ofthe Study

Sources of IdeasContributing to Idea

Generation inPercentages

External Internal

l. t·1YERSand r·1ARQUIS 55 45

2. t1UELLER 59 413. LAilGRISH 64.5 35.54. UTTERBACK 64 34

~ow it ~ill be ~ore interesting, if welook at the soecific sources within externalSCU~C25 sti~~·13tin? i~ea-~ener~~ion. !ndustl·Yis bound to be the ~ajor source of inforra~ion,p"Jng ex t erna l sources stimulating idees for ~&~cro.iect s . The other imcor tant e:<terna1 sources

4

GUPTA

are: Government agencies, universities, researchassociations. etc. This has been clearly depic-ted in the studies of Langrish et al. projectSAPPHO and Bolton Committee as shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4EXTERNALLY ORIGINATED IDEAS AS A PERCENTAGE OF

ALL EXTERNALLY ORIGINATED IDEAS

BOLTON Com-External Sources LANGRISH SAPPHO mittee on

Inqui ry on% % Small Firms

%

Private Industry 62.74 39 38.00Universities 10 22 5.49GovernmentAgencies 20.59 28 14.86ResearchAssociations 9.71Individuals 11 2.70Others 6.67 29.24

2.13 Channels of communicationThe channels of stimulus information can

be categorised as either 12forma1 (1) or Formal(F). Baker and Rubenstein have identified vari-ous channels used in "need" and "means" event.He had found that 49~ of the events were stimu-lated by interaction (infor~a1 channel). Ofthese. 47% of the total need event and 19% ofthe "mean" events were stimulated by interaction.In the study by Go1dhar et a18, 78% of therespondants reported informal channels as havingof greatest value. Also 68% of the respondantsreported that the channel was one through whichinformation was regularly received. In addition.39~ of means stimulated innovators reportedirregular channels, as did only 29% of needstimulated innovators. In another studyNagpal and Pruthi,who have studied one small andone big R&D Project, have found that formal com-munication played a leading role in idea-genera-tion. Their results are presented in Table 5.Utterback14 has also stUdied stimulatingchannels in idea-generation process in re-search projects before funding. He found thatthe stimulating inputs more often came from:discussion (37.6~),internal discussion (13.6~),and external discussion (44.0~) followed byliterature (15.2~), analysis and experiment(13.6":), ezper ience (lO.2:~), etc.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

TJI.BLES

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION 8 TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

EFFECT OF THIGGER'ING EVENT ON THE IDEA-GENERATED

Cosmun t c ati onLtl5 :~':Jf;-i COfi':( ~.

tualr·!·LC.~-

dUfdlTotal

Project [\

Literature 5.5* 15,5* 21interaction 3.0 15.0 18Experiment andAnalysis 3.5* 11.5* 151'10 Specific Event 0 4 4

TOTAL 12 46 58"IV = 1.68

Project BLiterature 3.5* 10.5* 14

Interaction 5.5* 2.5* 8Experiment andAnalysis 0 4 4No Specific Event 0 2 2

TOTAL 9 19 28Y= 9.31

When an idea was associated with twotrigger events each was assumed tohave contributed half the idea. Nocase was encountered wherein morethan 2 triggering events were involved.

3. PROBLEM SOLVING

*Note

In the persuit of technological innova-tions it is usual to encounter a range of prob-lems. This stage comes, only after the informa-tion has been synthesized into an idea or designconcept, and then concerned organization commitsthe desired funds to its development, then solv-ing process begins. The problem-solving processnormally consists of following steps:

i) Division of problem into separate su~problems;

ii) Setting specific technical goals;iii) Assigning priorities to goals;

iv) Evaluating design alternatives usinggoals & priorities.

The problems that are normally encounter-ed can be cJassified into different ways by dif-

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dec) 1981

ferent authors. OnE res earcher class if ies it asof f'our types: Concep tue 1 -, t't: 1ct. i rIg tocouc epts; Empirical -, rc ia ii n., t r.de te ;f'rocpdural +:» r e l a t in« -; ~~::..il;;ii.UCS i-,JI;iliinllods; and l.oo ist ics .:.-, !f"li, Li:,:, t r- supp lycf E'c.;i.;i~:lilErlt, rTIi\t.er1o; ~ 1"(i(.';'!1til,,< ... rtc , Somec less ify it as tech:';('": and ri:'>!l-ted''1ilJl.According to AllenE: in case of t~chn~cal problem.there is often no correct or even best solutionin the long run. In fact, there is frequentlyno tel~inal state, both problems and solutionsare themselves dynamic. Also the interaction ofthe researchers with the environment is continualand changing. The criteria for the evolution ofpotential solutions are not absolute-they areultimately a matter of judgement and differentpeople evaluate it differently. Basically we cansee that resolution of a technical problem invol-ves two stages: assembling of information;filtering and evaluation of information;' andapplying it at right time, context and situation.3.1 Types, Sources and Channels of Informa-

tion Used in Problem-Solving3.11 Types of Information Used

As in earlier case, we will first analyseth~ types of information used in problem sOlvinq.Myers and Marquis6 have identified 8 types ofinformqtion used in problem solving as shown inTable 6. The data regarding properties, compo-sition, characteristics of material has been used

TABLE 6CONTENT OF INFORMATION USED DURING

PROBLEM - SOLV ING

Content or Nature TotalNo.

Properties, Composition,Characteristics of Materialsor Components 238Existence or Availability ofEquipment or Materials withParticular Properties 123Design,Based Information 123Text Procedure and Techniques 89Oper.ting Principles or Rules,Required Specifications,Technical Limitation 88Location of Information 78Theories, Law, GeneralPrinciples 71Existence of SpecialistFacilities or Serv1ces 27

28

151511

119

8

3

5

In another study, A11en18 went a step fur-ther where he tried to relate the source ofinfo~tion with the quality of solution to theproblem to be 'solved. He considered a slightlyhigher proportion of 118 alternate solutionsduring problem-solving as suggested by externalsources (62 cases; 52.5%). However, when onelooks at the quality of accepted a1ternativ~s andtheir sources, their picture changes dramatlca11y.7 out of 8 accepted alternatives from internalsources resulting in higher rated solutions, while9 out of 14 accepted alternatives from outsidesources resulting in lower rated solutions. Thisshows that R&D teams which rely more heavily uponoutside information sources were found to producepoorer quality solutions. So far we have studiedthe general sources of 'information by which theinformation was sub-divided according to whetherthe problem-solver obtained the information fromsources within the company, or possessed theinformation himself. We will not focus at thespecific SOurces of information used during -problem-solving under the above categories ofsources. Johnson20 while studying chemicalinnovations in British industry has studied thesources of information during problem solving.The results of his study are presented in Table8,9 which indtcates that the major form ofprinted matter that contributed maximum scienti-fic information to the resolution of technical 'problem was the primary and secondary scientificliterature. This type of information made up of,about 30% to the total scientific inputs and wasalso the third largest source from outside thecompany. Also the inputs obtained from thescientific literature mainly described either thE

TABLE 8SPECIFIC SOURCES OF INFORMATION USED IN PR~-SQLVlNG

to the extent of 28~.gories of informationinformation (15%) andniques (15%), etc.

The other important cate-used were design-basedtext procedure and tech-

3.12 Sources of InformationThe SOlution of a problem needs a critical

information which the scientists get from avariety of sources'. The type of sources usedduring problem! solving have been studied by anumber of researc~ers. for example Johnstonand Gi bbons 1'9. Langri sh et a15, flyers andMarquis6 have studied the comparative contributionof external ,.internal and personal sources inproblem-solvlng as indicated in Table 7. Accord-ing to th~. internal sources play a more impor-tan~ role ln problem-solving. Similar results aredeplcted by ~ studies of Utterback14 and Allen~lso. !he Allen study reports that 80% of thelnformatlon used in resolving technical problemswas ~id~ly aV,~ilable, through perhaps only tospecl~llsts Wlth the appropriate education andexper i ence.

TABLE 7SOURCES OF INFORMATION USED IN PROBLEM-SOLVINGGeneral Johnston Langrish Myers &Source & Gibbon et al Marquis

External 34 36 32Internal 30 35Persona 1 36 29 68

GUPTA

Number of Information Inputs

Outside Company No. % Inside CompanyTrade Literature 43 14 Analysis & ExperimentTechnical Literature 22 7 SuperiorScientific Literature 36 12 ColleagueTextbooks 8 2 Other DepartmentsHandbooks 20 7 Other DivisionRepresentatives & Customers 20 7 Company ManualSu~pliersJCompanies 39 13 Company ReportUnlVersities 30 10 Internal Library orProfessiona 1 Institutes 3 1 Reference SystemBritish Standards 12 4Exhibitions 2 1Consul tants (Ccnmer-c ia1 ) 12 4Goverrj/nent A'jencies 11 4Field Tests 8 3Conferences ,IResearch Associations 2;l 8PJt:!nts

') ~

6

r40. ~

183 6925 917 617 67 39 36 23 1

Ann Lib Sci 00

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

properties, composition of characteristics ofmaterial and components or provided theories andgeneral principles. The majority of the scienti-fic literature used was in the form of reportsof original research work. The other printedSOUI'ce~ of scientific informe t ior. inputs weretextbooks describing scientific theories andprinciples, and scientific handbooks providingdata and characteristics of fundamental or .natural materials.

TABLE 9DISTRIBUTION OF USE OF OUTSIDE COMPANY SOURCES

SourceNumber of Innovations

Having specified Numberof Information Inputs

o 1 2 3 4 5 6 )6

Trade Literature 7 10 9 2 1 1 0 0

Technical Literature 18 5 4 3 0 0 0 0

ScientificLiterature 20 5 0 1 0 0 3 1Textbooks 26 2 0 2 0 0 0 0

Handbooks 18 6 4 2 0 0 0 0

Representatives &Customers 18 7 2 3 0 0 0 0Supplier Companies 13 7 7 1 1 0 0 1Universities 18 2 6 2 1 0 1 0Consultants 24 3 1 1 1 0 0 0

ResearchAssociations 25 2 0 0 0 1 1 1

The second vehicle of infcmnationtransfer by means of printed matter was technicalliterature normally consisting of : articles ofa technical periodical, advertisements of pro-ducts and processes, 'etc. The major inputs 'asreported obtained from technical literature wasof type of information such as properties,composition, 'characteristics of materials orcomponents; existence or'availability of equip-ment or materials; test procedures and tech-niques; and design-based information. By compa-rison the trade literature, ~isseminated byfirms. to provide information about their produc~in the form of catarogue, was the major singlesource of technical information from outside thecompany.

Contacts in industry such as salesrepresentatives, customers, and the technicalsales staff in supplier companies were one ofthe two major sources of technological informa-tion from outside the company and were used byvast majority of problem solvers.

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dec)' 1981

Information was obtained from universi-ties through a number of modes of interactionoccasionall~. employing academic scientistsdIrectly as consultant~ and by supporting re-search HI a university wh ich w0S relevant tocompany , intere~ t s , but more frequHlt 1)' byrequestlng advlce and assistance, .and by the useo~ special facilities such as instruments andl ibr ar ies .

The research associations were anotherc~tegor~ of information source which provided theflfth hl~hest nu~ber of information inputs. Thetype of lnformatlon which this source providedwas a mixtur~ o~ S&T and involved the propertiesor ~haracterlstlcs of materials; design infor-matlon; and the location of specific pieces ofinformation.

. Now going a step further, it will beinteresting to know the impact of informationfrom generated sources. This was well depictedby Johnson & Gibbons19 and is presented in Table10. The information obtained from outside the com-pany contributed Significantly more in providingthe solution to technical problems than did theother categories. While sources outside thecompany contributed only about one-third of the~nformati?n, they were by far the most important~n reso~ vrnq technical prob lems arising .duringlnno~atlons. Internal informa t ion had the gr€at-est l~pac~ by ~timulat~ng acti?n leading to asolution tn whtch the informe tion itself wasnot contained and by narrowing the possible areaof solution i.e. information from within thec?mpany pl~yed the role of aSSisting the solu-t10n but dld not provide the actual ~olution.Personal sources were used significantly more toobtain, which enabled the test of a proposedsolution to be carried out, or defined the baseparameters of a problem. Thus it appears thatgi'eater the "cogniti ve distance" between theproblem-solver and the information he acquiresthe more likely it is to contribute in a major'way to the resolution of technical problem. Whileall sources of information are important, it is~hat information with which the problem solver1S least familiar and which is least readilyaccessible to him at the commencement of innova-tion that in practice provides the greatestcontribution to solving technical problems - aclear indication of the value of close link§ \0sources of information outside the firm. A fewstudies have also been carried out which throwsome light on the organizational size, newness

'of the requirements of the firms on the sourcesof information used. Another important elementwhich has also been studied is the effect of thesources of information used on the routine conti-ngency situation and non-routine and high pres-sure situation in problem solving.

7

TABLE 10IMPACT OF INFORMATION FROM GENERAL SOURCES

General SourcesImpact External Internal Personal

% %

Evoked basic idea 2 1 0Provided ordirectly led tosolution of prob-lem being workedout 35 24 28Stimulatea actionleading to thesolution but wasnot itself incor-porated 18 23 12Narrowed area ofsolution ofdemonstratedfeasibility 19 26 15

Defined base para-meters to problems 6 13 16Enabled test ofproposed solutionto be carried out 17 11 26Contributed tounsatisfactorysolution 3 2 3

GUPTA

is about needed information, the more tensionhe feels to seek additional information toreduce uncertainty; and (ii) when seeking addi-tional information, the individual chooses fromthe variety of channels/sources with differentinformation-carrying capacities and characteris-tics. The author also hypothesized that increa-sed uncertainty (with consequent increasedtension) would lead the individual to use chan-nel/sources with increased information-carryingcapacity and/or with increased opportunities for"personal" (socio-emotional support). He meansjOb-related information transfer which could bearrayed on a single dimension of richness.combining a single concept of channel capacitywith the concept of "impersonality" of informa-tion channel as seen in Fig.2. Another study byHOiland et a122 on the information sourceselection by R&D groups under conditions of tech-nical uncertainty has used the above concept of"richness" to measure a source's degree of im-personality as well as the ability of an infor-mation 'source'to utilise a variety of informa-tion codes (such as verbal/written modes,non-verbal information. etc). The study concludesthat both in traditional and non-routine problemsolvings. internal sources were more importantthan external sources. External sources. how-ever. are relatively more important to non-routine problem-solving than they are to tra-ditional R&D problem solving.(a) Effect of Organizational Size on the

Sources of InformationIn a study by Bodensteiner21, the author

has developed the concept that selection beha-viour could be correlated with information un-certainty. His reasoning was based on twopremises: (i) the more uncertain the tndivtdual

Fig. 2: Channel Characteristics and Richness of Four 11eans of Information Transfer

Organizational size is one of the orga-nizational characteristics affectin~ informationacquisition. The studies by Allen2 , Freemanl2,Shotwel124 have shown that smaller firms exhibit

Means of InformationTransfer Language

Channel Richness of---------------------- Transfer Means

Non-Language Feedback

Formal WrittenDocuments

Formal Vocabulary(Impersonally Addressed)

Informal Letter/MemoDocuments

Slow Lowest

Fonr.al & Informal(Personally Addressed)

LowS 1 0\'1

Telephone Conversations Formal & InformalVocabulary

~ersonal1y Addressed)

8

Infl ection,pauses

Fa s t Hign

- :. .~...::

;\nn l..iD Sci Doc

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

a substantially different behaviour pattern inacquiring technological information than do largefirms. This is believed to be largely due tosmall firms being constrained by limited mana-gerial resources and lack of antennas which canbe used to identify and exploit relevant infor-me t i0 I'l So Ur c e s .

(b) Newness of the RequirementsAnother factor which could conceivably

affect the firm's ability to acquire relevanttechnological information is the newness of therequirement themselves. Taylor and Utterback25in examining engineering groups faced with newtasks, found some significant changes in theirinformation acquisition behaviour. As newtechnological problems are faced, the R&D Groupmay find itse lf re1atively uninformed. It mayalso lack the linkages to the relevant externalcommunity which has been established for moretraditional fields of technology.3.13 Channels of Communication

The choice of information channel forproblem-solving depends upon many factors e.g.nature of problem, accessibility of the channelused, and perceived pay-off from the channel.A few authors have studied the use pattern of~arious channel in the process of problem solv-1ng. Nagpal and Pruthi17 have studied the useof various channel and its relation with thetype of problem used. The results of thestudy are presented in Table 11. It isobserved that about one fourth of the problemswere solved through interaction in Project A andone third in Project B. It is difficult tospeculate as to why in Project B, the role ofinteraction was pronounced than in Project A. Thereason assigned to it is that project B is com-paratively of recent origin and therefore needsmore discussion for solution of problems. Theauthor also tests whether there is any relationbetween type of problem solved & type of channelused. However, data do not lead to any conclu-sive results. Comparing the results of thisstudy with that of Johnson & Gibbonsl9, inter-action was found to playa signtficant role inproviding information during the process ofproblem solving in both the studies as seen inTable 12. UtterbacK also went further andpresented a comparison of the use of communica-tion channel during problem-solving for meansversus need-stimulated innovations. His resultsare presented in Tables 13,14. It was assumedthat channel use would differ after funding formeans stimulated as opposed to need-stimulatedones. This assumption was based on the expecta-tion that means-stimulated innovations involvemore recent technical information than those sti-mulated by needs. The data presented in Table 12

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 lMar-Oec) 1981

TABLE 11CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION CHANNEL USED FOR

PROBL [r'1- SOLVING

Type of ChannelNumber of

Concep- Problems Solvedtual TotalEmpiri- Proce-cal dural

Project ALiteratureInteractionExperimentation/AnalysisUnspecified

3.5* 11. 5* 0

8.5*9.5*

1311

1 21 0

113

144

TOTAL 7 3 32 42

Project BLiteratureInteractionExperimentation/AnalysisUnspecified

1o

oo

910

910

o1

1o

63

74

TOTAL 2 1 28 30

*Note In those cases where two channels weresimultaneously used, half the problemsolved was attributed to each channelThat is why fractions occur in the .~able. No case was encountered where-1n more than two channels were used.

TABLE 12ROLE OF DIFFERENT CHANNELS USED IN

PROBLEM - SOLVING

Type of ChannelPercentage of

Problems SolvedNagpal & Johnston

Pruthi & GibbonLiteratureInteractionExperiment & AnalysisUnspecified

29.533.326.910.3

2937,34

TOTAL 100 100

9

TABLE 13

ANALYSIS OF TRANSITION IN CHANNEL USAGE INPROBLEM - SOLVING PRIOR AND FOLLOWING FUNDING

Sources of InitialInput (i) in EachPair Prior toFunding

Source of Subsequent Input(i+l) in Each Pair

Litera-ture &Experi -

enceDiscus-

sionAnalysis

andExperi-

ment

Literature andExperience 9 10 7Discussion 10 28 11Analysis &

6 9 8Experiment

Sources of InitialInput (i) in EachPair followingFunding

Sources of subsequentinput (i+l) in Each Pair

Literature andExperienceDiscussionAnalysis &Experiment

23

68

612

2 8 17

indicate that greater proportion of communica-tion ihputs for mean's-stimulated innovationscame from the 1 itera ture and techni ca 1 contactsoutside the organization than was the ciae ofneed-stimulated innovations. Utterback hasalso provided the analysis of transition in chan-nel usage in problem solving prior and followingfunding. His results are presented in Ta~le 11.Normally it is generally assumed that dunngproblem solving, search for information w illproceed from available information (literature-memory) to secondary sources (discussion) and toprimary sources (Analysis-Experiment).4. IMPLEMENTATION AND DIFFUSION

Implementation refers to the ~anufactur-ing, engineering, tooling and plant start uprequired to bring the prototjpe solutiGn, orinvention to its first use (process) or lrketintroducticn (product). '..ihilethis subproc ess']enerally involves gl~eate,· ~xpenditut·~ Jnd CJ:~-'-:it-.r·~ent bj t~e fir'·~ ~h·3n beth jj21-~ener3~~Jn

lO

GUPTA

and problem-solving, the technical uncertaintiesinvolved are those to be less than those in theearlier phases. Once the first use or introduc-tion of a process Or product occurs, the tech-nical process of innovation ends and an econo-mic process of testing, acceptance and com-munication begin~. Diffusion is ~onsideredto be a two-step or multi;step process. 1tbegins slowly with the product or process beingemployed by a few influential economic innova-tors or opinion leaders. Then the research iscommunicated and diffused to the rest of thepopulation. Using Rogers25 framework the dif~fusion of an innovation may be defined as "Theprocess of adoption o~ rejection, over time, ofsome specific idea or practice, connected tospecific channels of communication which may becomplementary to social structures and to a givensystem of values and cultures". Mansfield27selects four major factors which appear to governthe rate ,at which an innovation reaches anequilibrium level of use. These are: the extentof economic advantage of the innovation over _existing methods or products; (ii) the extent ofuncertainty associated with using the innovationwhen it first appears; (iii) the extent of com-m~tment required to tryout the innovation; and(1V) the rate of reduction of the initial un-certa inty regardi ng the performance of the inno-vations. The availability of information oneach ?f.these factors can accelerate arriving ata deC1S1on about the adoption of a technology bya target system.

Rogers25 uses a five stage model to~haracterize the adoption process: awareness;lnterest; evaluation; trial; and adoption.4.11 Sources of Information Used During

Diffusion ProcessMost of the debate on the use of infor-

mation SOurces has been concentrated on two di-mensions. The first dimension is the personal-impersonal category which refers to obtaininginformation from people as opposed to writtenmaterial. The second dimension is the external-internal category which distinguishes Sourcesinside the organization or group from outsidesource~ Using Rogers model, Churchill andOzonne a and W~rner29 have studied the contribu-~ion of ~~rio~s information source at each stagei n the d i f fus ion process of innovations. It hasbeen reported that impersonal. external sourcesof information ,Iere found more important duringthe awareness s taqs , in contrast, personal and~xternal sources ~ere paramount during thelnterest stage, impersonal sources Were utilized

fTOS t dur ing the eva 1ua t ion S tcge. .41 so at theevaluation stage, greatest variety of inforfTi!-ticn sources are e~~loyed.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

INFOR~ATJON. COMMU~JCATION & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

TABLE 14CO~·iPJ.RISOt:OF THE USE 0: (O'·:!·:U!;!CATIO~CHANNELS DURIHS PROBLH',-SOLVING For

r·:~,'..';::-V~f:~.U~r;EEu-STIMULAHD ItiNOVI\TIOIl~t'.eans-

StimulatedInnove t iens

NeEd-StimulatedInnovations

Prior to FundingLiterature & Technical ConsultationOutside the OrganisationOther Sources

Following FundingLiterature & Technical ConsultationOutside the OrganizationOther Sources

In TotalLiterature & Technical ConsultationOutside the OrganizationOther Sources

1517

X2 = 1.214p = 0.270

3466

1418

X2 = 4.012p = 0.045

2684

2935

X2 5.52860

150 p 0.019

In a similar type of study in the fieldof agriculture, it was found that the prevailingculture of their communities was found to influ-ence the rate of diffusion of ~nformation anddifferential use of communication channels amongfarmers. The use varied in relation to thestage in the adoption process that the farmerhas used and in relation to the farmer's adoptedcategory. For example, mass media sources wereimportant at the awareness and interest stage;neighbours and friends were important at theevaluation and trial stage, etc.

Ettlie30 has also studied the use ofspecific sources at the first stage of adoptionprocess. According to him six different sourcesof information were mentioned as contributing tothe awareness stage of the adoption process ofthe technology studied: (i) machine tool showsor expositions; (ii) trade journals; (iii) ori-~inal manufacturers or source organizations;(iv) distributors; (v) other organizationsalready using the technology, and (vi) consul-tants. Among these, the most important sourcesof information contributing to awareness oftechnology were trade journals (25%), machinetool shows (20%) and distributors (20%). In fact,similar sou~ces were found import8~t or ratedhigh by Warner study also. Now it will be more

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dee) 1981

interesting and useful, if we relate the sourcesof information used at each stage to the eventualpattern of successful utilization of technologybeing adopted. This has been studied by Ettlie~lThe major findings of his study is as follows.(i) Impersonal, external sources of informationare most likely to be used at the awareness stageAlso there is no apparent relationship betweenthe variety of information source or the domi~nance of either personal or impersonal informa-tion sources to the awareness stage and the ulti-mate utilization rate attained by the adopters.The pattern of information usage during theearly adoption phases does not appear to be areliable predictor of utilization;(ii) The inclusion of impersonal informationsources during the evaluation stage of adoptionresults in higher utilization rate in organiza-tions which implemented the production innova-tions. There is also some indication that thevariety of information sources used during theevaluation period is greater than those dur;r~any of the other four stages. This indicatesthat both external and internal sources of in-formation are important during evaluation;(iii) During the first six months of implementa-tion there is·an increasing dependence on inter-

II

GUPTA

r:IG . .3 ( •• PIRie •• \.. MeOEl. 0' ik[ I~PQ~TAMC!

~ OF ,•• ORMUIO. SOURCE.'" ,"NO SUCCfss~u~g 1••••~I..E•••E.MTATICh OVEQ:TIME

o'" "z ~o I-I-

~IX •••o !c:,. IX:! w

o••0o ::<""uz«I- ~Il:: 0o -'(l,.

I .......€>i@ I---~! 0/-- ~r'\, , \ ,£::,

A'I \v~

/. / \\ .

/ fo \I

~~- I / / a1rtJ t-i (0I

/

'- &- -~AWARENESS rVALUATION INST•••LLATJC*6;.10NTNAfTlR

••• STA1..J....ATiQMTIIo4E CATEGORY

J([y TO "TYPE. o s IN~OR:MATION Sou.c.~.@IMPE!fit,OM,Al, !.)t'''[R ••4L ® '''''''lR~ONAL.U'T[R'''AL

f'tI PERSO.AL, EXTfRNAI. &PERSONAL.,ln~RIIN..

nal, personal Sources of information and, to alesser extent, a sharp increase in internal,impersonal information sources. These lattersources gradually become less important by' theend of six months. During the same period oftime. external. personal sources of informationbecome less important to user organization. Thispattern of information usage corresponds withthe .hi qher utilization rates eventually attainedby some user organizations of these productioninnovations.

The above emergent pattern of informationusage and successful implementation is alsosummarized graphically in Fig.3.

5. REFERENCES1. Brooks, H: National science policy and

technology transfer. In. Proceedings ofa Conference on TechnoTOgy. Washington.1967 (NSF 67-5).

2. Baker, N R and Rubenstein, A H: TheEffects of perceived needs and means onthe generation of ideas for industrialR&D projects. IEEE Transaction onEngineering Management 1967, EM-14(4).Hol t, Knut: Information and need analy-sis in idea generation. Research Manage-ment, May 1975, 24-27.

3.

4. Globe, S and othersinnovation process.July 1973, 8-15.

Key factors inResearch Management,

12

10.

11.

12.

5. Langrish, J and others: Wealth fromknowl edge. Edi nburgh: MacMi 11an, 1972.477p.

6. Myers, Sand f1arquis, D: Successfulindustrial innovations. Washington, DC;Superintendent of Documents, 1969. 117p.Pruthi, Sand Nagpal, PS: Patt2rn androle of informal communication in R&D.New Delhi: Centre for the Study ofScience, Technology and Development,CSIR,1978. 41p.

7.

8. Goldhar, J 0 and others: Informationflow, management styles, and technologi-cal innovation. IEEE Transactions onEngineering Man~gement 19l6, EM-23(1),51-61.

9. Holt, K: Administrative problemer vedprodustivikling. The Division ofIndustrial Management, The NorwegianInstitute of Technology, 1966.Holt, K: Managerial aspects of productdevelopment in Norwegian companies.Management International 1968, (2-3),37-53.Failure and Success of industrialinnovations. Brighton (Sussex): SciencePolicy Research Unit, University ofSussex. 1972.Freeman, C: The Role of small firms ininnovations in the United Kingdom since1945. London: Ht4S0, 1971.

Ann Lib Sci Doc

INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

13. Langrish, J: Technology transfer: someBritish data. R&D Management 1971, 1(3),133-36.Utterback, J M: Process of innovation:A study of the origination and develop-ment of ideas for new scientific instru-ments. IEEE Transactions on EngineeringManagement 1971, EM-18(4), 132-38.

15. Peters, D.H: Incidence and exploitationof commercial ideas in university depart-ments and laboratories. Cambridge Mass;Alfred Sloan School of Management, MIT,August 1968.

16. Gordon, G: Paradox of reseprch adminis-tration. Proceedings of the 20thNational Conference on Administration ofResearch. Denver, Colo.; Denver Univer-sity, 1967. 15-25.

17. Nagpal, P Sand Pruthi, S: Problemsolving and idea generation in R&D: Therole of informal communication. R&DManagement 1979, 9(8), 147-49.

18. Allen, T J: Managing the flow ofscientific and technological informationCambridge, Mass; Sloan School of Manage-ment, ~lIT. 1966. (Thesis-Ph.D)

19. Johnston,Rand Gibbons, M: Characteris-tics of information usage in technologi-cal innovations. IEEE Transactions onEngineering ~lanagement, February 1975,27-34.

20. Johnston, R: Coupling patterns inscience and technology. (In Davidson,H F, et al, Eds: Technology-transfer,Leiden: Noordhoff, 1974, 77-96).

21. Bodensteiner, W P: Information channelutilization under varying research anddevelopment project conditions: An aspectof inter-orqanizational communicationschannel use. Austin; Graduate School ofBusiness Administration, The Universityof Texas, 1970 (Thesis - Ph.D.).

22. Holland, W E and others: Informationchannel SOurce selection as a correlate

Vol 28 Nos 1-4 (Mar-Dee) 1981

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

of technical uncertainty in a researchand techn icel oruantzat ion. (IEEETransactions on Engineering Management1976, E~1-23(4), 163-167).Allen, T J: Performance of informationchannels in the transfer of technology.Industrial Management Review 1966, 18(1),87-98.Shotwell, T K: Information flow in anindustrial research laboratory: A casestudy. IEEE Transacti on on Eng ineeri ngManagement 1971, EM-18, 26-33.Taylor, R L and Utterback, J M: Alongitudinal study of communication inresearch: Technical and managerialinfluences. IEEE Transactions on Engi-neering Management 1975, EM-22(2),80-87.Roger, E H: Diffusion of innovation.New York: Free Press, 1962.Mansfield: Economics of technologicalchange. 1968.

31.

Churchill, G A and Ozanne, U B: Adoptionresearch: Infonnation Sources' in theindustrial purchase decision. (InProceedings of the 1968 AmericanMarketil1]Association Conference. February-1969lWarner, J C: Introduction of numericallycontrolled technology to Illinoisindustry - Phase 2. Illinois; Departmentof Industry and Technology, NorthwesternUniversity. 1969.Ettlie, .J E: Implementation offhewtechnology and sources of info\o!Q1ation:Some additional findings. Evanston,Illinois; Program of Research on theManagement of Research and Development,Department of Industrial Engineering andManagement Science, Northwestern Univer-sity. March 1971.Ettlie, J E: Timing and sources ofinform~tion for the adoption and imple-mentatlon of production innovations. IEEETransactions on Engineering Management.1976, EM-23(1), 62-68 .

13