Scientists' Background and Knowledge Sharing Mechanisms as Drivers of Value Creation in Small Biotech Companies

Purpose - This paper adopts a multi-framework analysis to explore the value creation (Amit, Zott, 2001) in the biotech industry and identifies specific attributes of the value creation process. Design/methodology/approach - This paper takes an inductive approach as it investigates the cases of five companies. Checklist matrixes and meta-matrixes have both been designed for within-case and cross-case analysis (Miles and Huberman 1994). Originality/value - Entrepreneurs' past experiences as scientists develop the knowledge that enables identification of business opportunities and designing of their development. Partnerships with universities and sharing mechanisms such as royalties allow collection of valuable resources, especially in the common situation of financial slack. Scientists are the main element driving continued trading and research leaders are central figures to apply the business ideas. Practical implications - On one hand, the biotech industry needs extremely experienced scientists to sense valuable opportunities and manage complex processes, otherwise a company might fail. On the other hand, scientists should try to have an entrepreneurial approach and rely on their scientific background to start a business. The scientist-hiring process, especially with research leaders, and the sharing mechanisms, such as royalties, seem to be key processes. They can be used to receive central resources and survive in the biotech industry