Collaboration in Translation: Negotiating Technology and Culture

This chapter explores the dynamics of technology transfer in the aerospace sector through the case of the VIRISTAM project, which involved the adaptation of a VR training tool originally developed by Airbus for application within Malaysia’s CTRM. By examining the transfer of advanced simulation technology, the chapter highlights the intersecting roles of cultural adaptation, institutional frameworks and collaborative learning across organizational and national boundaries. Using the Triple Helix model of university–industry–government relations as a conceptual anchor, the study demonstrates how the VIRISTAM initiative not only facilitated technological upgrading but also revealed the sociocultural dimensions that underpin successful knowledge transfer. Particular emphasis is given to the role of cultural brokers—mediators who navigate between differing organizational logics and cultural expectations—to ensure that imported technologies resonate with local practices and values. Through qualitative data and narrative reconstruction, the chapter illustrates how such brokerage enables both the localization of global technologies and the globalization of local expertise. The discussion underscores that technology transfer is never a purely technical process; it is equally shaped by negotiations of identity, institutional trust and cultural meaning. The VIRISTAM case thereby contributes to a broader understanding of how emerging economies can strategically position themselves in global value chains by not only acquiring technological tools but also embedding them within their own socio-institutional landscapes.