Commercialization of External Technology and Its Determinants in SMEs

The benefits of external technology acquisition for a firm’s performance have been emphasized in many previous studies. In the case of SMEs, external technology may be distinctive resource that drives their innovation and enables them to compete effectively with lager firms. The objectives of this study are to examine whether SMEs have successfully commercialized external technologies and what factors influence success rate of commercialization. A data set from 192 Korean SMEs that have acquired technology from external sources is studied. The results show that a SME’s absorptive capacity and the characteristics of the technology provider have a significant impact on commercialization performance of external technologies. Also, the significance of external technology acquisition in SME’s innovation strategies positively influences the success rate of commercialization. On the other hand, technology intermediary services and employees in charge of technology acquisition have no significant impact. This finding shows that they have a marginal effect in markets for technology, at least for now, despite the importance of their roles.