%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2019 %T Using Action Research to Organize Technology Transfer in Complex Innovation Contexts %A Armando Machevo Ussivane %A Paul Ellwood %K action research %K agricultural innovation %K boundaries %K international collaboration %K technology transfer %X Technology transfer projects increasingly consist of multiple, diverse organizations, with each pursuing their own agenda as well as that of the overarching programme. In this article, we adopt a participatory action research methodology in order to explain and improve the coordination of the autonomous innovation activities within an organizationally complex project. The context of the research involved the transfer of rice production technology from China to Mozambique. The action research identified four categories of boundary within the project that were hindering performance: Intellectual/Land property rights; Public/Private sector logics; Inside/Outside programme; and Collaboration/Competition between programme actors. The process of co-inquiry with stakeholders enabled by the action research allowed programme actors to reach an understanding of others, and it created a new thinking space for mutual problem solving. By these means, the action research process makes a resource of the differences between stakeholders rather than it being seen as a barrier to be compromised through negotiation. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 9 %P 17-26 %8 04/2019 %G eng %U https://timreview.ca/article/1230 %N 4 %1 RBL Armando Machevo Ussivane is the Chairman of RBL, E.P – a Mozambique Government agency in charge of the management of the Baixo Limpopo Irrigation Scheme. The objectives of this scheme are food security and poverty alleviation through improved agricultural productivity. His career includes 18 years of experience in the management of agriculture development projects. His research interests lie within the areas of inter-organizational collaboration including partnerships and technology transfer in cross-cultural agriculture contexts. Armando holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. %2 University of Liverpool Paul Ellwood is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Liverpool. His research interests are broadly in the area of science-led innovation and include technology transfer, responsible innovation, and the organization of university scientific research groups. His early career included leadership positions in a private science-based industry. Since moving to a university management school, he has become increasingly interested in issues relating to the engagement between academic research and management practice. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1230