Lead users and technology transfer to less-developed countries: analysis with an application to Haiti.

Abstract This paper discusses the role that cross-cultural factors play in the process of technology transfer. The specific focus is an investigation of implementation mechanisms that facilitate technology transfer in an environment in which cultural factors exert a significant influence. The frameworks of Niehoff and Anderson and of Wicklein are discussed in describing such issues as cultural distance (as described by Hofstede), negotiation and people-to-people relationships, the learning ability of a society, abstractive versus associative cultures, and appropriate technology choices. It is argued that these traditional frameworks are not sufficient to overcome the inherent problems of cultural distance and “sticky” information regarding the associated costs of transferring information to a specified site in a form that will be usable by a given information seeker. The Lead User methodology developed by von Hippel is discussed as a new approach for facilitating technology transfer to less-developed countries. The discussion of the Lead User methodology is linked to analysis of a particular technology transfer project undertaken by a team of faculty researchers from Fairfield University in the rural community of Fondwa located in Haiti. The team's implementation of a solar cooker project is discussed in detail, particularly as it reflects an attempt to utilize the Lead User framework.