The flow of technological innovation in an R & D department

The flow of technological information, in particular the type of sources and transfer channels for technological information has been a focus of research interest since the very first studies concerning management of research and development. However, the results of these empirical studies, although encouraging and useful to managers, leave several questions unanswered, and even worse, contain some contradictions.In this paper we will try to explain some of these contradictions using the technology characteristics as an contingency factor. The model, which we will present has been tested in a twofold way: questionnaires were used to provide insight into the importance of some sources, while interviews on the basis of standardized problems led us to a better insight into sources and channels.