Pursuing Knowledge Exploitation through R&D Partnerships: Evidence from The Italian Dedicated Biotech Firms

This paper focuses on research partnerships in biotech industry be- tween small DBFs (Dedicated Biotech Firms) and large established corporations (Arora, Gambardella, 1990; Arora, 1995; Powell et al., 1996; Baum et al., 2000; Arora et al., 2001). The literature considers partnerships in high-tech industries as an effective way to bring scien- tific discoveries from the laboratory to the markets (Arora, Gam- bardella, 1990; Hagedoorn, 1993; Powell et al., 1996; Powell, 1998; Baum et al., 2000; Prevezer, 2001). The paper considers that research partners’ previous experience and in itinere behaviours may affect the outcomes and benefits from the partnership in the biotech industry. The variables analyzed in the empirical investigation are: the research partners’ experience in previous alliances, the level of interaction and the mutual learning processes between the partners. The dependent variable, knowledge exploitation, is measured through the number of products in the final stage of the market and IPR (Intellectual Proper- ty Rights) grants.