Knowledge, Space and Biotechnology

Abstract

This article outlines and reviews the trends in research on the biotechnology industry over the last 20 years, drawing a distinction between theories that emphasise knowledge processes and those that focus on spatial processes. It covers research in strategic management, innovation studies, political economy, new economic geography, cluster theory, regional studies and economic geography. In reviewing these two strands of literature, it develops a synthesis of the two perspectives called the knowledge‐space dynamic, which seeks to combine insights from both to better explain and situate biotechnology innovation.

"Fostering Indigenous Innovation Capacities": The Development of Biotechnology in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-Tech Park

“…Birch (2007) provides a literature review of these theories and their relevance to biotech development. This section will mainly focus on the relevance of these theories to Chinese biotech development.…”

“Weakness” as “Strength” in the Scottish Life Sciences: The Institutional Grounding of Knowledge-based Commodity Chains in a Less-favoured Region

“…Seline and Friedman (2006) provide details on an array of policy strategies and initiatives from around the world that are specifically directed towards encouraging the life sciences. They are all, in large part, designed to (re‐)produce a similar set of institutional arrangements that have been highlighted in the existing literature on life science innovation (see Birch 2007a for a review). Such institutional arrangements can be represented as a stylised model of life science innovation and are, in turn, based on several assumptions: first, venture capital is a vital source of investment in risky research; second, a (largely unregulated) domestic market is needed to stimulate demand; third, innovation entails entrepreneurial behaviour and dynamic small firms driven by profit‐centred motives; and fourth, it is necessary to have a highly skilled and dynamic labour market in order to facilitate knowledge spillovers.…”

“…constitute part of the global regulatory framework in which firms operate. Consequently, it is theoretically and methodologically vital to go beyond the emphasis on localised knowledge interaction and learning that characterise much of the existing literature on innovation in knowledge‐based sectors like the life sciences (see Birch 2007a).…”

The knowledge–space dynamic in the UK bioeconomy

“…Taking the notion of the bioeconomy seriously, whether as a policy discourse, an actually existing sector, or both, raises the question of why the biotech industry is spread so unevenly? A considerable amount of academic research has sought to explain this uneven development and, more specifically, its concentration in specific places (for reviews see Feldman 1999; Senker 2005; Birch 2007a). The theories can be crudely split between three main research agendas.…”