Title: Biotechnologies: market structuring and competitive strategies

Authors: Vincent Sabourin

Addresses: School of Management and Innovation, University of Quebec at Montréal (UQAM), 315 Rue Sainte Catherine, Centre Ville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract: Over the past three decades, biotechnology industry has emerged as a vital and dynamic source of new technologies for the pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical industries. Moving beyond the overstated promise for early and widespread commercial success in the 1970s, biotechnology is now associated with a sustained flow of innovations and tools, offering dramatic improvements in human health and a compelling value proposition for healthcare and agricultural consumers. Based on an extensive literature review assessment and the in-depth evaluation and analysis of the biotechnology markets, this article asks: what are the main competitive phenomena in the structuring of the biotech markets? The article begins by exploring the general trends of the market, the growth and the rate of adoption of nanotech technologies by customers. It examines the strategies of adoption which biotech companies use to obtain market shares. The structuring of the market under various market applications is also examined. Finally, the article looks at the positioning of the players with respect to economies of scale and competitive advantages in biotechnology.

Keywords: biotechnology industry; competitive advantage; manufacturing technology; economies of scale; biotech markets; market structure; competitive strategies; nanotechnology.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2016.082110

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2016 Vol.14 No.3/4, pp.232 - 248

Received: 19 Mar 2016
Accepted: 16 Aug 2016

Published online: 07 Feb 2017 *

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