NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS AND THE HYBRIDIZATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL BUSINESS MODELS: THE GERMAN AND UK BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTORS

Abstract

Given what institutional scholars have described as an inhospitable institutional climate for entrepreneurial business, why has the German biotechnology industry suddenly taken off, while in the UK, where a ''correct'' institutional architecture exists, has the industry shown signs of stagnation? To explain these trends the article develops a firm-centered approach, recognizing that firms work with institutional frameworks - often with help from public policies - to create new business strategies. The argument is developed that such processes are associated with the ''hybridization'' of business strategies at the micro level, combined with the generation of new constellations of particular institutional frameworks within relatively stable national models.