When Technology Transfer Fails: A Typology of “Surprise Barriers” and Their Systemic Ripple Effects

While much of the current literature, such as Tran et al. (2024) and Hafeez et al. (2023), focuses on identifying and quantifying known barriers to technology transfer (like regulatory misalignment or lack of absorptive capacity), there is little systematic exploration of cases where technology transfer should succeed but doesn’t. This research proposes a qualitative, multi-case investigation of "surprise barriers"—unexpected social, psychological, or network-driven obstacles that derail well-resourced technology transfer efforts. By constructing a typology of such barriers (e.g., unanticipated shifts in community values, sudden stakeholder exits, emergent informal power structures), the study would trace their ripple effects across organizations and ecosystems. This “deviation from expectation” approach (see Rahman et al., 2024 for inspiration) would challenge and refine established models, ultimately offering a more nuanced diagnostic toolkit for practitioners and policymakers. The novelty lies in treating failed transfers as primary data, rather than outliers, to surface the invisible mechanisms at play.

References:

1. ASSESSING FARMERS' AWARENESS, TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, BARRIERS, AND EFFECTIVE MEDIA SOURCES IN AGRICULTURAL JOURNALISM FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. Md.Toufiqur Rahman, Md. Matiul Islam, Mamunor Rashid (2024). Khulna University Studies.
2. Understanding the Complexities: Interrelationships of Critical Barriers to University Technology Transfer in Vietnam Using T-Spherical Fuzzy MCDM Approach. Thu-Hien Tran, Phi-Hung Nguyen, Lan-Anh Thi Nguyen, Thu-Hoai Thi Nguyen (2024). IEEE Access.
3. An Empirical Investigation of Absorptive Capacity on Technology Transfer Effectiveness Through Organizational Innovation. A. Hafeez, A. Shamsuddin, B. Saeed (2023). International Journal of Professional Business Review.