Transfer of knowledge in international cooperation: the Farmanguinhos – SMM case

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of four mechanisms of knowledge transfer (training, technical visits, expatriation, and standard operating procedures) on the different dimensions (potential and realized) of absorptive capacity in international technical cooperation. METHODS: We examine the case of implementation of the Sociedade Moçambicana de Medicamentos. Data have been collected using semi-structured interviews (applied to 21 professionals of the Sociedade Moçambicana de Medicamentos, Farmanguinhos, FIOCRUZ, and Itamaraty) and official documents. The data of the interviews have been submitted to content analysis, using the software NVivo. RESULTS: Training and technical visits directly influenced the acquisition and, partly, the assimilation of knowledge. Expatriation contributed with the transformation of this knowledge from the development and refinement of operational routines. Finally, the definition of standard operating procedures allowed the Mozambican technicians to be the actors of the transformation of the knowledge previously acquired and assimilated and, at the same time, it laid the foundations for a future exploration of the knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Training and technical visits mainly influence the potential absorptive capacity, while expatriation and standard operating procedures most directly affect the realized absorptive capacity.