Investigating the Factors affecting knowledge transfer and its impact on innovation performance of international strategic alliances of pharmaceutical SMEs

The purpose of this research is investigating the factors affecting knowledge transfer and its impact on innovation performance of international strategic alliances of pharmaceutical SMEs. This paper is an applied research that in terms of data collection is descriptive _survey. Target population of this study consists of managers and owners of international businesses active in the pharmaceutical industry. Also in this study in order to evaluate the relationship between variables and their impact on each other, the partial least squares method (PLS) and smart-PLS software were used. The results showed that it-based systems, learning strategy, trust culture and flexible structure have a positive effect on knowledge transfer and knowledge transfer also has a positive effect on knowledge transfer. Also absorptive capacity of the alliance moderates the relation between knowledge transfer and innovation performance in international strategic alliances.