The purpose of this study is to examine the achievements of transfer of domain-specific technology and expertise through case studies of Korean SMEs that have employed Japanese retired skilled workers. The need for the study stems from the necessity to accumulate research findings that gauge technological gap between Korean and Japanese manufacturing industries in various aspects. The implications obtained through the present study are as follows.
First, in terms of small and medium-sized manufacturers in Korea, while the technological gap between Korea and Japan is narrowing, it does still exist. In particular, as shown in the case analyses, technical dependence on Japan was confirmed in several fields such as product design technology, mold manufacturing technology, and material manufacturing technology.
Second, given that the actual transfer of functional technology by humans takes place on-the job in the manufacturing industry, it can be pointed out that the term “technology transfer” is being used rather vaguely. This is because the six manufacturing technologies - work technology, maintenance technology, site management technology, production technology, design technology, and research and development technology - evolve in time as they undergo the corresponding six manufacturing processes. Considering the developmental process of these technologies, the performance of the companies that have been examined in the present study is sure to continue experiencing future advancement.