Title: The social construction of an organisational field: the case of biotechnology

Authors: Walter W. Powell

Addresses: Department of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

Abstract: The emergence of a new industry is not due solely to the resource endowments and competences of new firms, but is also tied to the creation of an organisational field that provides a supportive infrastructure for industry development. Biotechnology is a rapidly-growing new field, particularly in the USA, where the fast transfer of knowledge from universities to science-based firms has led to the creation of a common technological community, which further diffuses both scientific news and organising skills. Drawing on a case study of tPA, the clot-busting drug for heart attacks developed by Genentech, I show how the ||open architecture|| of biotech firms facilitates product development. However, the lack of a well-developed governance structure, with common rules and understandings, with respect to regulatory oversight and patent protection poses considerable risks and dampens further industry development.

Keywords: biotechnology; technological innovation; Genentech; tissue plasminogen activator; industry evolution; product development; governance; institutional rules.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBT.1999.004476

International Journal of Biotechnology, 1999 Vol.1 No.1, pp.42 - 66

Published online: 10 May 2004 *

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