W niniejszym opracowaniu autor pragnie zaprezentować wielowymiarową rolę
wizerunku przedsiębiorstwa, zwłaszcza w działalności o charakterze usługowym.
W szczególności jednak stawia sobie za cel dokonanie wieloaspektowej oceny znaczenia
wizerunku przedsiębiorstwa usług finansowych w procesie dokonywanego na jego rzecz
transferu technologii.
W związku z powyższym identyfikuje liczne potencjalne relacje, występujące
w procesie transferu technologii na etapie jego inicjowania, przeprowadzania
i finalizowania, a następnie ukazuje wpływ wizerunku przedsiębiorstwa na ich podejmowanie
i podtrzymywanie. W konsekwencji uzmysławia, w jak dużym stopniu wizerunek
przedsiębiorstwa usługowego warunkuje skuteczność absorpcji technologii. Ułatwia on
bowiem nawiązywanie niezbędnych w tym procesie kontaktów oraz determinuje jakość
i trwałość przewidzianych w nim proinnowacyjnych relacji. I to nie tylko z dawcami
technologii, pośrednikami w transferze technologii czy innymi podmiotami jakkolwiek ten
proces wspierającymi, ale także z klientami, którzy będąc bezpośrednimi odbiorcami efektów
nowo wdrożonej technologii, decydują o ostatecznym sukcesie tego protechnologicznego
przedsięwzięcia.
Nowadays we are functioning in a highly competitive environment in which
societies are growing more mature and demanding. Therefore, the company’s image is
becoming an essential factor in building proper relationships with the company’s
customers. The image value is even bigger in services performing companies whose
basic element of the market offer i.e., the service, is characterised by a relatively
weaker strength of impacting the market, if compared with material goods. The
company’s image, however, goes beyond the pro-market functions. It contributes to
building and developing relationships with the company’s other stakeholders, such as ,
for instance, its investors, suppliers, prospective employees, financial institutions, or
local governments.
Also, the company’s image plays another crucial role in its pro-technological
innovation activity and this aspect is discussed by the author of the present paper. The
objective set is to perform a multidimensional assessment of the role of the company’s
image in the technology transfer process that are to benefit financial services
companies.
Generally, the manner in which a company is perceived by other entities
operating in its environment conditions the social and economic support given to its
activities, including non-market ones, and this is how the conditions for its functioning
are established. In the case of financial services companies, such features as reliability
and trustworthiness appear to be an integral and indispensable constituent of their offer
and may be perceived even as a necessary condition for their existence and for
developing any relationships with them. Numerous relationships occur, among other
things, in activities intended to benefit technology transfer which results straightforwardly from the multitude of potential subjects involved. These subjects
may change into business partners or stakeholders. While analysing the technology
transfer process and its success factors, the most important seem to be the relations
occurring at its initialisation stage since the technology transfer process is deemed as
effective only when its use brings the expected market and financial results.
The company’s image, when conditioning the ease of starting and maintaining
relationships with numerous entities being the source of indispensable knowledge,
services and technologies, determines the fact of initialising technology transfers, in
particular ones that are well-suited and innovative. For example, due to good
reputation and trust obtained through the image, the company’s customers and
suppliers are more willing to direct the demanded technological changes, subjects
being the source of broad knowledge relevant to the technology and its sources of
financing are more open to share it, intermediaries are more willing to provide their
support, technology providers are more willing to undertake co-operation in the area of
the transfer, financial institutions are more prone to finance undertakings, etc.
However, it must be remembered that at the stage of initialising collaboration with
new partners very cautious approaches are dominant and sometimes they take the form
of a suspicion. Sympathy and, ultimately, trust are reached gradually and this is
usually a lengthy process. It must be mentioned, however, that a company’s good
reputation does help in that respect and, also, it diminishes the risk related to starting
such collaboration.
Since in technology transfers it is important to gain not only sheer technology
but also to apply it in a way that enables the company to obtain a higher value than
that of competitors, then building positive market relationships appears to be an
important success factor of this undertaking. Good relationships held with customers
due to the company’s positive image result in customers’ better understanding and
favourite reception of the innovations being implemented. For example, less important
and indistinct innovations seem to be more impressive and suggestive in companies
which are well-known and are perceived positively. However, a higher degree of risk
that is typical of completely original and radical innovations will be undertaken easier
by those companies which are perceived by customers as powerful, modern and
trustworthy. It is so because customers are inclined to trust more innovations which
are introduced by such companies.
Summarising the brief considerations of the role of the company’s image in
the process of technology transfers to financial services companies, it must be stated
that the image does play an essential role since it conditions the ease of making
contacts indispensable in the process as well as the quality and the lasting character of
the predicted pro-innovation relationships. Therefore, if, following W.M. Cohen’s and
D.A. Levinthal’s concept, we accept the fact that the company’s absorptive potential is
responsible for the efficiency of a technology transfer, then the capability of shaping
the desired image should be acknowledged as an essential and integral part of its
potential.