The entrepreneurial environment for biotech start-ups in Germany and Japan

Abstract

Biotechnology is considered to be one of the key high-technology sectors of the future. It has been increasingly accepted that small, innovative businesses were the major stimulus for the development of this emerging industry. Many studies on new entrepreneurial entrants in biotechnology mainly address the situation in the USA and neglect developments in other countries. Therefore, the present paper concentrates on two latecomers into the biotechnology industry, namely Japan and Germany, and addresses the question of how different institutional frameworks may have an impact on its emergence. More specifically, we investigate the role of venture capital, government initiatives, large companies and entrepreneurship on the development of and current situation in the biotechnology industry. The comparison of the biotechnology industry between two countries, against the background of their different institutional settings, provides some important insights for management scholars as well as policy makers.