Management of agriculture-related biotechnology: constraints on innovation

This paper outlines constraints on firms operating in the area of agriculture and food-related biotechnology. It reports on findings from a study involving over 60 interviews with managers in firms innovating in this area. Cognitive maps are used to explore issues in the management of the technology, and depict various approaches adopted. It highlights market and organizational constraints, and discusses differences in large and small firms. The paper concludes that small dedicated biotechnology firms are disadvantaged in a number of important ways in this field of innovation. However, large multinational corporations also experience market and organizational difficulties