Presenting a structural capital model with a focus on technology transfer in Iran's petrochemical industry

Technology transfer is one of the most important ways to acquire and develop technology for organizations including petrochemical industry. One of the most critical factors influencing technology transfer is the characteristics of the technology receiver. This feature includes mechanisms, structures and processes within an organization, called “structural capital”. Based on the role of the petrochemical industry in other industries and economies and the importance of technology and its transfer in this industry, a model that provides effective structural capital in technology transfer, can provide a framework for understanding and behavior of this capital in technology transfer. This applied research, surveys to present an effective structural capital model in technology transfer in Iran's petrochemical industry. Relying on the literature, structural capital indicators were extracted and summarized by the help of experts, to design a questionnaire. The statistical population of the research covers people who have participated in at least one technology transfer project in the petrochemical industry, using simple random method. The temporal scope of the research focuses on data from the experience of the last thirty years of aforementioned people, which has been collected during a continuous period of Iranian calendar 1399. The spatial and organizational scope of this research includes active production complexes in the petrochemical industry throughout Iran. Using exploratory factor analysis, the dimensions of structural capital were identified and tested using the confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, the structural capital model effective in technology transfer in the petrochemical industry was explained and presented in five dimensions: 1) Renewal capital, 2) Supportive systems and methods, 3) Knowledge management infrastructures, 4) Supporting organizational culture, 5) Appropriate organizational structure.