Title: Services sector in the biotechnology firms of South America: a focus in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay

Authors: Jorge Niosi; Tomas Gabriel Bas

Addresses: Department of Management and Technology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), P.O. Box 8888 Station Centre-Ville, Montreal H3C 3P8, Canada ' Business School and Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, University Adolfo Ibañez, Av. Las Torres 2700, Escuela de Postgrados, Peñalolen, Chile

Abstract: This paper is about a specific type of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS), namely R&D services sector in biotechnology, and their growth in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. Like other emerging and developing countries, these countries in the Southern Cone are slowly adopting biotechnology. Many dedicated biotechnology firms (DBFs) are already providing services in the region, from R&D to bioinformatics, to gene identification and stem cell databank storage services. The tendency of DBFs in Latin America is to provide services. The objective of this paper is to identify many of those firms that are dedicated to provide services in biotechnology. The present work that in spite of low public support, biotechnology services in the region are growing, even if this growth is well under the needs and potential of the region.

Keywords: services; service industry; biotechnology industry; international technology diffusion; innovation systems; innovation policies; industrial collaboration; university-industry cooperation; South America; Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Uruguay; biotech firms; knowledge intensive business services; KIBS; R&D services; research and development; bioinformatics; gene identification; stem cell databank storage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLIC.2014.066678

International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital, 2014 Vol.11 No.4, pp.357 - 373

Received: 13 Sep 2014
Accepted: 16 Sep 2014
Published online: 11 Jan 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article