The Role of Research & Development Alliances in Innovation: A Study of the Biotechnology Industry

生物技术产业的特点是新产品/工艺具有异常高的市场价值，它与其他高科技产业不同，因为它是由超级竞争、知识产权问题的出现速度快于管理它们的法律以及新产品和工艺的孵化和商业化的高度不确定性所驱动的。 这些条件允许作出风险平衡的组织安排，如与大学和其他公司结盟，以促进创新。 此外，人类基因组项目的完成为研究和产品/工艺开发带来了无限的可能性，而这是在一家公司的范围内无法完成的。 本研究将解决两个关键问题：（1）生物技术公司在多大程度上依赖于其他生物技术公司和大学的区域集群，形成研究和开发（R D）联盟？ (2)与其他公司和大学结成联盟的研发密集型生物技术公司是否表现出比同行更好的创新绩效？ 研究问题基于生物技术产业创新研究的两个主要局限性：（1）没有在一个分析框架下审查不同类型联盟的有效性，即没有研究正式/非正式和国内/国际伙伴关系在促进创新方面的作用，（2）地理的作用仅限于分析联系是否本地化，即生物技术产业的区域集群在发展、增长中的作用以及这些联系对创新的影响在很大程度上被忽视。 这项研究将对从事人类诊断和治疗的所有生物技术公司进行邮寄调查，并对选定的一组公司的适当科学和管理人员进行访谈。 将采用定量和定性分析来分析数据。 预计这项研究将显示基于地点的优势在发展有利于科学进步和技术发展的正式和非正式网络方面的重要性。 拟议的研究将提供一个特定的过程影响在生物技术产业的创新组织的理解。 该研究将解释区域集群如何影响生物技术产业的创新组织，以及新技术如何发展主导创新中心。 在一个高度竞争和不确定的环境中，创新的障碍可能会扼杀增长，并导致辉煌的科学成果过早消亡，企业层面的行为将得到理解。 研究结果将用于确定创新轨迹如何指示基于尚未开发的尖端技术的城市和区域发展。 将提供对大学-产业伙伴关系、知识产权保护和联邦创新监管的更广泛的社会影响。

The biotechnology industry, which is characterized by new products/processes of unusually high market value, differs from other high tech industries because it is driven by hypercompetition, intellectual property issues that are arising faster than the laws to govern them, and high levels of uncertainty in the incubation and commercialization of new products and processes. These conditions have allowed for risk-balancing organizational arrangements, such as alliances with universities and other firms, to promote innovation. Furthermore, the completion of the human genome project has introduced endless possibilities of research and product/process development, which cannot be accomplished within the boundaries of a single firm. This study will address two key questions: (1) to what extent do biotechnology firms depend on regional clusters of other biotechnology firms and universities to form research and development (R&D) alliances? (2) Do R&D intensive biotechnology firms, which have forged alliances with other firms and universities, exhibit better innovation performance than their counterparts? The research questions are based on two major limitations of recent studies of innovation in the biotechnology industry: (1) the effectiveness of different types of alliances has not been examined under one framework of analysis, that is, the role of formal/informal and domestic/international partnerships in promoting innovation has not been studied, and (2) the role of geography has been limited to the analysis of whether linkages are localized, that is, the role of regional clusters of biotechnology industry in the development, growth, and impact of these linkages on innovation has been largely ignored. The research will conduct a postal survey of the entire population of biotechnology firms in human diagnostics and therapeutics and interviews of appropriate scientific and managerial personnel in a selected group of firms. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be utilized to analyze the data. The study is expected to show the importance of location-based advantages in the development of a network, both formal and informal, conducive to scientific advancements and technological development. The proposed study will offer an understanding of the specific processes influencing the organization of innovation in the biotechnology industry. The study is expected to explain how regional clusters influence the organization of innovation in the biotechnology industry and how new technologies develop dominant centers of innovation. Firm-level behavior in a highly competitive and uncertain environment, where barriers to innovation can stifle growth and cause premature demise of brilliant scientific efforts, will be understood. Findings from the study will be used to determine how innovation trajectories are indicative of urban and regional development based on yet-to-be developed cutting-edge technologies. Broader societal implications on university-industry partnerships, the protection of intellectual property rights, and the Federal regulation of innovation will be provided.