Flavors and mixins of expert systems technology transfer model for AEC industry

This paper presents a technology transfer (T2) model for expert systems (ES). The T2 model describes the stages of T2 process as well as the factors affecting ES adoption in an organizational setting. The decision to adopt ES is heavily influenced by the top management’s attitude toward technology and by factors of an environmental, organizational, and technological nature. However, the decision to adopt ES technology is not sufficient for the success of the T2 process. For ES technology to contribute to the improvement of the organizational performance, the ES applications must be of real value to the organization, must be technically correct, and must be properly utilized by the end users. The paper also presents the methodology used for the development of the T2 model and focuses on the flavors and mixins, that is, the alternative strategies from which managers can choose to introduce ES in their firms. The paper shows that for each stage of the T2 process, there is no single way of performing it. Rather, a spectrum of options are available. Which options are chosen is a function of the characteristics of the firm.