Communication in Technology Transfer and Diffusion: Defining the Field
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1207/s15427625tcq1503_1
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  peer-reviewed

Coppola, Nancy W.
Technical Communication Quarterly
2006

Abstract:

Provides an introduction to our field’s connections with technology transfer and diffusion. Technology transfer, the complex social process that moves technology from bench to market, drives global economic growth; technology diffusion, the market-driven process by which innovations are adopted and implemented, follows similar patterns. Indeed, technology transfer and diffusion may be considered synonymous with the phenomenon of growth in a global economy.