Insiders' Views on Business Models Used by Small Agricultural Biotechnology Firms : Economic Implications for the Emerging Global Industry

Abstract

The source of most innovations coming from the emerging agricultural biotechnology industry is small and medium enterprises (SMEs), yet SMEs have a high failure rate, which raises questions, such as "is there some flaw in the business structure of firms in the industry?," or "is the economic and policy environment facing the industry not conducive to supporting SMEs?" The types of business models used by SMEs across the globe are identified using "insider information" collected from interviews of senior managers. Results have implications for economic development because the economic and policy environment is found to be the constraint.