Share:


Investigating the current business model innovation trends in the biotechnology industry

    Balint Horvath Affiliation
    ; Nesrine Khazami Affiliation
    ; Prespa Ymeri Affiliation
    ; Csaba Fogarassy Affiliation

Abstract

The current trend of business model research shows an increased endeavour of conceptualizing business frameworks for circular economy (CE). While previous sustainability paradigms have failed to attract market stakeholders, their reaction differ regarding this concept. The reason is discovering that the benefits of former industrial systems have turned to be threats for modern companies. Thus, a circular transition seems beneficial not only in environmental but also in financial dimensions. Closing material and energy flows results in reduced costs and enables businesses to propose novel values to customers. The present study aims to investigate the current stage of circular transformation on a corporate level. In order to do that, it thoroughly analyses the business model evolution of an innovative and knowledge-intensive industry, biotechnology. The research employs a circular evaluation method to detect which parts of the applied business structures show the signs of transition. The findings indicate that the business innovation process in the sector is in line with the disciplines of CE. However, this phenomenon is rather the result of striving for market competitiveness, than making efforts for sustainable development. It proves the emergence of CE to be as much an economic concern as it is an environmental one.

Keyword : business model innovation, circular economy, biotechnology, SME, circular value proposition

How to Cite
Horvath, B., Khazami, N., Ymeri, P., & Fogarassy, C. (2019). Investigating the current business model innovation trends in the biotechnology industry. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 20(1), 63-85. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2019.6880
Published in Issue
Feb 5, 2019
Abstract Views
4940
PDF Downloads
3862
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Agoulnik, I. I. (2016). Patient-centric healthcare of the future from the prospective of biomedical research and technology. Journal of Analytical & Pharmaceutical Research, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.15406/japlr.2016.02.00028

Allianz. (2015). The sixth Kondratieff – long waves of prosperity. Analysis and Trends report. Allianz, Munich, DE. Retrieved from https://www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/migration/media/press/document/other/kondratieff_en.pdf

Aminoff, A., Valkokari, K., Antikainen, M., & Kettunen, O. (2017). Exploring disruptive business model innovation fort the circular economy.” In G. Campana, R. Howlett, R. Setchi, & B. Cimatti (Eds.), Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2017 – Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 68, 526-636. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57078-5_50

Amit, R., & Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 41-49.

Andersson, M., & Stone, T.-A. (2017). Global sourcing and technical efficiency – a firm-level study on the ICT industry in Sweden. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(5), 877-896. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1356367

Armas-Cruz, Y., Gil-Soto, E., & Oreja-Rodríguez, J. R. (2017). Environmental management in SMEs: organizational and sectoral determinants in the context of an Outermost European Region. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 18(5), 935-953. https://doi.org/10.3846/16111699.2017.1373375

Baden-Fuller, C., & Haefliger, S. (2013). Business models and technological innovation. Long Range Planning, 46(6), 419-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2013.08.023

Blecharz, P., & Stverkova, H. (2014). Assessing the service quality in small and medium-sized companies. Actual Problems of Economics, 154(4), 206-217.

Bocken, N. M. P., Rana, P., & Short, S. W. (2015). Value mapping for sustainable business thinking. Journal of Industrial and Production Engineering, 31(1), 67-81. https://doi.org/10.1080/21681015.2014.1000399

Bonnet, C., & Wirtz, P. (2012). Raising capital for rapid growth in young technology ventures: when business angels and venture capitalists coinvest. Venture Capital – An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 14(2-3), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691066.2012.654603

Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business model for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-art and steps to-wards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.07.007

Breitbarth, T., Schaltegger, S., & Mahon, J. (2018). The business case for sustainability in retrospect: a Scandinavian institutionalism perspective on the role of expert conferences in shaping the emerging “CSR and corporate sustainability space”. Journal of Public Affairs, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1855

Brooks, A. L., Wang, S., & Jambeck, J. R. (2018). The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade. Science Advances, 4(6). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aat0131

Chesbrough, H. (2007). Why companies should have open business models. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(2), 22-28.

Chesbrough, H. (2010). Business model innovation: opportunities and barriers. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 354-363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.010

Chesbrough, H., & Rosenbloom, R. (2002). The role of business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from Xerox Corporation’s technology spin-off companies. Industrial and Corporate Change, 11(3), 529-555. https://doi.org/10.1093/icc/11.3.529

Doranova, A. (2016). Regional Innovation Monitor Plus 2016 – Regional Innovation Report Flanders (Production related bio-technology). Technopolis Group: Brussels, Belgium. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/regional-innovation-monitor/report/innovation

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2013). Towards The Circular Economy – Economic and business rationale for an accelerated transition. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Cowes, UK. Retrieved from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2015a). Towards the circular economy: accelerating the scale-up across global supply chains. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Cowes, UK. Retrieved from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ENV_TowardsCircularEconomy_Report_2014.pdf

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2015b). Delivering the circular economy – a toolkit for policymakers. Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Cowes, UK. Retrieved from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/

Ernst & Young. (2017). Beyond Borders Staying the Course – Biotechnological Report. Ernst and Young LLP, London, UK. Retrieved from https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-biotechnology-report-2017-beyond-borders-staying-the-course/$File/ey-biotechnology-report-2017-beyond-borders-staying-the-course.pdf

Essenscia. (2017, 19-23 June). Belgium showcases expertise on Immunotherapy at the world’s largest Biotechnology Conference. Press release on the BIO International Convention 2017 Conference in San Diego. Essenscia, Brussels, Belgium. Retrieved from http://www.essenscia.be/en/PressRelease/Detail/16653

European Commission. (2015). Closing the loop – And EU action plan for the Circular Economy. European Commission, Brussels, BE. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52015DC0614

Fernald, K., E. Pennings, & Claassen, E. (2015). Biotechnology commercialization strategies: risk and return in interfirm cooperation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(6), 971-996. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12218

Fleisch, E., Weinberger, M., & Wortmann, F. (2015). Business models and the internet of things. Interoperability and Open-Source Solutions for the Internet of Things, 9001, 6-10. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16546-2_2

Fogarassy, Cs., B. Horvath, A. Kovacs, L. Szoke, & Takacs-Gyorgy, K. (2017a). A circular evaluation tool for sustainable event management – an olympic case study. Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, 14(7), 161-177. https://doi.org/10.12700/APH.14.7.2017.7.10

Fogarassy, Cs., Horvath, B., & Magda, R. (2017b). Business model innovation as a tool to establish corporate sustainability. Visegrad Journal on Bioeconomy and Sustainable Development, 6(2), 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1515/vjbsd-2017-0009

Frankenberger, K., Weiblen, T., & Gassmann, O. (2013). Network configuration, customer centricity, and performance of open business models: a solution provider perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(5), 671-682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.05.004

Gassmann, O., & Keupp, M. M. (2007). The competitive advantage of early and rapidly internationalising SMEs in the biotechnology industry: a knowledge-based view. Journal of World Business, 42(3), 350-366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2007.04.006

Gauthier, C., & Gilomen, B. (2016). Business models for sustainability: energy efficiency in urban disctricts. Organization & Environment, 29(1), 124-144. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615592931

Gay, B. (2014). Open innovation, networking, and business model dynamics: the two sides. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 3, 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/2192-5372-3-2

Hay, M., Thomas, D. W., Craighead, J. L., Economides, C., & Rosenthal, J. (2014). Clinical development success rates for investigational drugs. Nature Biotechnology, 32(1), 40-51. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2786

Horvath, B. (2018). The recognition of resource use through industrial development from a social perspective. Studia Mundi – Economica, 5(1), 68-78.

Horvath, B., Mallinguh, E., & Fogarassy, Cs. (2018). Designing business solutions for plastic waste management to enhance circular transitions in Kenya. Sustainability, 10(5), 1664. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051664

Johnson, M., Christensen, C., & Kagermann, H. (2008). Reinventing your business model. Harvard Business Review, 86(12), 45-48.

Kang, H. D. (2018). A Start-up’s R&D stages and the evolution of financing sources: evidence from the biotechnology industry. Entrepreneurship Research Journal, 8(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1515/erj-2017-0159

Kola, I., & Landis, J. (2004). Can the pharmaceutical industry reduce attrition rates? Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 3, 711-716. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd1470

Kraaijenhagen, C., van Open, C., & Bocken, N. (2016). Circular business – collaborate and circulate. Ecodrukkers: Nieuwkoop, Netherlands.

Lewandowski, M. (2016). Designing the business models for circular economy – towards the conceptual framework. Sustainability, 8(1), 43. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8010043

Lipton, S., & Nordstedt, C. (2016). Partnering with big pharma – what academics need to know. Cell, 165(3), 512-515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.021

Mangematin, V., Lemarié S., Boissin J., Catherine D., Corolleur F., Coronini R., & Trommetter, M. (2003). Development of SMEs and heterogeneity of trajectories: the case of biotechnology in France. Research Policy, 32(4), 621-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(02)00045-8

Manninen, K., Koskela, S., Antikainen, R., Bocken, N., Dahlbo, H., & Aminoff, A. (2017). Do circular economy business models capture intended environmental value propositions? Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 413-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.003

Marcello, R., Carroll, G., Vadnerkar, G., & Volini, A. (2015). Executing an open innovation model: cooperation is key to competition for biopharmaceutical companies. Deloitte Center for Health Solutions: Washington, USA.

Mentink, B. (2014). Circular business model innovation: a process framework and a tool for business model innovation in a circular economy (Master Thesis). Delft University of Technology & Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Micek, G., Gleadle, P., & Dawidko, P. (2014). The role of institutional context in the development of the SME Biotech sector in Poland. Studies of the Industrial Geography Commission of the Polish Geographical Society – Contemporary issues in Polish industrial Geography, 25, 132-150.

Murdoch, T. B., & Detsky, A. S. (2013). The inevitable application of Big Data to health care. JAMA, 309(13), 1351-1352. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.393

Oghazi, P., & Mostaghel, R. (2018). Circular business model challenges and lessons learned – an industrial perspective. Sustainability, 10, 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030739

Osterwalder, A., & Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. Hoboken, USA: John Wiley and Sons.

Palmer, M., & Chaguturu, R. (2017). Academia-pharma partnerships for novel drug discovery: essential or nice to have? Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 12(6), 537-540. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460441.2017.1318124

Pauli, G. (2009). Blue Economy – 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs. Paradigm Publications, Brookline, US.

Pisano, G. (2006). Can science be a business? Lessons from biotech. Harvard Business Review, 84(10), 114-125.

Ramkumar, S., Kraanen, F., Plomp, R., Edgerton, B., Walrecht, A., Baer, I., & Hirsch, P. (2018). Linear risks. Circle Economy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Rifkin, J. (2014). The zero marginal cost society: the internet of things, the collaborative commons, and the eclipse of capitalism. New York, USA: St. Martin’s Press.

Roth, D., & Cuatrecasas, P. (2010). The distributed partnering model for drug discovery and development. Kansas City, US: Kauffman – The Foundation of Entrepreneurship.

Sabatier, V., Craig-Kennard, A., & Mangematin, V. (2012). When technological discontinuities and disruptive business models challenge dominant industry logics: insights from the drug industry. Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 79, 949-962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.12.007

Sabatier, V., Mangematin, V., & Rousselle, T. (2010). From recipe to dinner: business model portfolios in The European biopharmaceutical industry. Long Range Planning, 43, 431-447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2010.02.001

Saias, P., & Kapadia, A. (2016). CROs, convergence, and commercial opportunities – how industry convergence is creating win/win opportunities for contract research and life sciences organizations. KPMG: Delaware, USA.

Schaltegger, S., Hansen E., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2016). Business models for sustainability: origins, present research, and future avenues. Organization and Environment, 29(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026615599806

Schaltegger, S., Lüdeke-Freund, F., & Hansen, E. (2012). Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 6(2), 95-119. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJISD.2012.046944

Scott, J. T. (2013). The sustainable business a practitioner’s guide to achieving long-term profitability and competitiveness (1st ed.). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Segers, J. P. (2015). The interplay between new technology based firms, strategic alliances and open innovation, with-in a regional systems of innovation context. The case of the biotechnology cluster in Belgium. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 5, 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-015-0034-7

Segers, J. P. (2017). Biotecnology business models: Catch-22 or best of both worlds? Working Paper, Hogeschool PXL, Hasselt, Belgium.

Swan, M. (2009). Emerging patient-driven health care models: an examination of health social networks, consumer personalized medicine and quantified self-tracking. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 6(2), 492-525. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph6020492

Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long Range Planning, 43(2-3), 172-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lrp.2009.07.003

Tölle, J., & Herbst, F. K. (2016). The business model of biotech SMEs: how do biotech SMEs cope with the industry’s challenges? (Master Thesis). Umeå School of Business and Economics, Umeå, Sweden.

Wach, K. (2015). Small and medium-sized enterprises in the modern economy. In M. R. C. Loera, & A. Marianski (Eds.), The challenges of management in turbulent times: global issues from local perspective (pp. 77-101) Universidad de Occidente, Los Mochis, Mexico.

Wastling, T., Charnley, F., & Moreno, M. (2018). Design for circular behaviour: considering users in a circular economy. Sustainability, 10(6), 1743. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061743

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). (2017). 8 Business cases for the circular economy. World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland.

Zott, C., Amit, R., & Massa, L. (2011). The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of Management, 37(4), 1019-1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311406265