Investigating the moderating effects of age of joint venture in the relationship between relationship characteristics and degree of inter-firm technology transfer

The main objective of this paper is to empirically examine the moderating effect of age of joint venture in the
relationships between relationship characteristics: relationship quality and mutual trust and two distinct
dimensions of degrees of technology transfer: degrees of tacit and explicit knowledge within IJVs. Using the
moderated multiple regression (MMR), the theoretical models and hypotheses in this study were tested based on
empirical data gathered from 128 joint venture companies registered with the Registrar of Companies of
Malaysia (ROC). The results revealed that age of JVs has significantly affected the relationship between
relationship characteristics (relationship quality and mutual trust) and degree of tacit knowledge; where the
relationship was found stronger for young JVs than old JVs. However, age of JVs did not significantly moderate
the relationship between relationship characteristics and degree of explicit knowledge. The study has bridged the
literature gaps in such that it offers empirical evidence and new insights on the moderating effect of age of joint
ventures in the relationships between relationship characteristics and two distinct degrees of technology transfer:
degrees of tacit and explicit knowledge using the Malaysian sample.