The transfer and commercialisation of technology from South Africa to foreign markets in the financial services industry

Abstract

International technology transfer (ITT) processes are complex, risky, and fail often. When financial services organisations have the opportunity to transfer their business model and core technologies to a foreign market, comprehensive technology and market research are compulsory. Numerous applicable theories and models in technology transfer were reviewed to develop such a model. Interviews with key individuals and focus group sessions were used to rank factors that affect the success of ITT in the financial services industry; more specifically the direct short term insurance industry. These success factors were implemented in the developed market evaluation model where the user is required to enter evaluation values for each factor. The evaluation model then delivers a value that represent the market potential. This model can be used to evaluate between one and many potential markets. Two factors an organisation must always be aware of is the influence stakeholders have on the ITT process and what ITT strategy is employed.