General packet radio service (GPRS) technology transfer: A case study to evaluate transferors

Abstract

The arrival of mobile phone also known as Global System for Mobile Communications (original acronym: Groupe Spécial Mobile -GSM) operators and their rapid growth may well be seen as one of the most significant developments in the field of communication and information technology over the last two decades. The aim of this study is to investigate the international transfer process of general packet radio service (GPRS) technologies, which supports the wireless access to external Internet protocol-based networks, and to propose a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach to evaluate the alternative transferor companies. In order to achieve these purposes, firstly an in-depth interview was conducted with a purchasing manager of the third largest GSM operator in Turkey. Then, the major factors, which directly affect the success of a technology transfer (TT) project, are identified from the literature in order to determine the transferor selection criteria for a transferee company. The next step was to find out the relative importance of these criteria by asking the purchasing manager who was also a member of the GPRS project team. Finally, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), which is a MCDM method, is applied to rank the alternative transferor companies.