World-Class Collaboration? A study of International Technology Collaboration by New Zealand ICT Firms.

Malcolm Fraser, Agitavi Research

Abstract

The aim of the (New Zealand) Government’s Growth and Innovation Framework (GIF) is to deliver the long-term sustainable development necessary to improve the quality of life of all New Zealanders.

The GIF’s action areas include improving international connections and stimulating the innovative capability of New Zealand firms.

As part of this focus on the development of policy initiatives that promote technology collaboration between New Zealand and overseas firms in the ICT sector, the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) has initiated a project to better understand possible measures that Government can take to enhance international linkages.

These measures are intended to improve the capability of New Zealand firms to introduce new technologies and facilitate the early adoption of technologies across

different sectors of the economy.

This document provides the output of a specific research project that was designed to:

• describe the origins of and reasons for technology collaborations between New Zealand and overseas firm in the ICT sector (where, how and why the linkage was initiated or how the foreign direct investment [FDI] was

attracted);

• identify the motivations of the companies involved;

• identify any barriers they faced;

• identify the critical success factors (what works) or the factors that contributed to any failure (what doesn’t work);

• assess the sustainability of successful and potential collaborations; and

• draw any lessons and policy implications from these experiences, including looking into the potential of New Zealand as a test bed for new technologies.