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This paper presents an empirical exploration of the effectiveness of scientific teams and the role of an external CEO in the spin-off formation process. The paper contributes to the literature by focusing on the role of the experienced or "external" entrepreneur (their commercial resources and capabilities) in the early phase of spin-off formation and offering an attempt to understand the interaction between scientific team effectiveness and the external CEO. The data are drawn from the BioPartner First Stage Grant, a seed fund initiated in the Netherlands that aims to stimulate university spin-offs in biotechnology. This unique data set covers 68 biotechnology spin-off projects and the results show that an external CEO positively influences the spin-off creation and leverages the effect of the spin-off's scientific quality. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure, and 2 notes.)

The Dutch higher education and research system has incrementally changed during the last decade. Several reforms, initiated by the government, have hinted towards influencing the basic processes within universities, such as research programming. However, it is largely unknown how these reforms have been implemented at the university shop floor level. Are the core activities of academics influenced by the reforms? Do academics still enjoy the academic freedom as they used to do? In this paper, we address the responses of four research units to changed institutional environments (two units in biotechnology and two in medieval history). Based on 33 interviews, we mapped their views on present-day research programming and problem choice in their units. The results show that the research units preserve their own research agenda to a large extent: the academic credibility process is paramount.

This paper explores an attempt to bring biotechnology more directly within the ambit of civil society in general and resource-poor farmers in particular. The Andhra Pradesh Netherlands Biotechnology Programme (APNLBP) was one of four country programmes initiated by Dutch aid in the early 1990s. It is coming to an end as an aid project next year. The broad objective of the programme was to contribute to poverty alleviation through biotechnologies but to do so in a rather unique way. Instead of having R&D laboratories develop a raft of new technologies and then ‘disseminating’ these to farmers, the emphasis was put on direct interaction with farmers and related stakeholder groups such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The paper describes the programme's inception and evolution, outlines key governance aspects and sets the analytical discussion within the context of modern ‘innovation systems’ discourse. Two aspects in particular are emphasized. The first is the degree of connectivity among the different stakeholders that are part of the system. It is now well recognized that it is the flow of information across stakeholder groups that often determines the degree of technological development that occurs, although clearly there are other factors also involved. The second is the importance of institutions and institutional change in enabling successful innovation to take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores how young innovative companies shape knowledge networks in seizing local and global opportunities of learning. The perspective used in the paper is derived from management and business literature, that is, knowledge networking is perceived as based upon choices following from strategies and networking capabilities. The empirical part makes use of a small sample of urban innovators in the Netherlands and of rough set analysis as a relatively new way of revealing 'causal' relations. The paper reports that local/regional and global networks tend to coexist in clusters, and that this pattern follows from particular organizational capabilities derived from the company of origin and particular strategies in building customer and supplier relationships. An in-depth study of a biotechnology cluster supports the idea of coexistence of local and global networks, in that a local/regional orientation is associated with research companies in early stages of existence and with particular service companies, whereas a global orientation is associated with research companies that have passed the early stages. However, there seems to be a general trend that knowledge networks are increasingly shaped on a global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes several examples of knowledge-intensive technologies for the production of chemicals from biomass, which take advantage of the biomass structure in a more efficient way than the production of fuels or electricity alone. The depletion in fossil feedstocks, increasing oil prices, and the ecological problems associated with CO(2) emissions are forcing the development of alternative resources for energy, transport fuels, and chemicals, such as the replacement of fossil resources with CO(2) neutral biomass. Allied with this is the conversion of crude oil products utilizes primary products (ethylene, etc.) and their conversion into either materials or (functional) chemicals with the aid of co-reagents such as ammonia, by various process steps to introduce functionalities such as -NH(2) into the simple structures of the primary products. Conversely, many products found in biomass often contain functionalities. Therefore, it is attractive to exploit this in order to by-pass the use, and preparation of, co-reagents as well as to eliminate various process steps by utilizing suitable biomass-based precursors for the production of chemicals.

This paper describes the development of a practical, which is taught to third year biotechnology students. We wanted to motivate the students by making them responsible for a research project. Competition was added as a stimulus for interaction between the students. A virtual company called CaroTech employed the students for 2 weeks. They worked in groups of two persons and each group was responsible for a 0.8 l flat panel photobioreactor. They had to produce as much beta-carotene as possible using the marine alga strain Dunaliella salina in this photobioreactor. On the first day, students developed a strategy to obtain optimal algal growth rate. They putted this plan into practice the second day and while cultivating the organism, they developed a second strategy how and when to stress the alga to initiate beta-carotene production. At the end of the ninth day, the total amount of beta-carotene was measured. To stimulate competition, the group that produced the most beta-carotene obtained half a point bonus on the final practical mark. On the tenth day, each group presented their results and an evaluation of their chosen strategies to the CaroTech board. Most groups were successful in growing algae. In the second phase some groups failed to stress the alga. The best group produced more than two times beta-carotene than the runner-up. The students were motivated by being responsible for their own results and the competitive approach. All students liked the practical and indicated that they learned a lot by following this practical.

Biotechnology and genetic modification (GM) related legislation is not yet fully developed in the European Union (EU). New legislation has been recently issued ('Introduction of GMO's in the environment') and recently proposals from the European Commission ('GMO's in food and feed' and 'Traceability and labelling of GMO's') entered the decision-making process in the end of 2001. The proposals for the establishment of the European Food Authority play a role in this respect. GMO legislation is complex not in the least because of the demands for the dossiers, to be submitted with an application, while these procedures for admission must become more transparent. In this paper the relevant legislation will be discussed with the exception of that related to human health. Because of dissatisfaction with the present legislation, the European Commission in the past years granted no new approvals for introductions on the market of GMO's and for GM novel foods. New legislation should suspend the present de-facto moratorium. The tasks and position of the Inspectorate for the Health Protection and Veterinary Public Health is discussed. A provision has been made in the legislation with respect to adventitious or technically unavoidable contamination of raw materials with GMO's up to a maximum of 1%, of which the enforcement is not yet watertight. The analytical methods are being still developed.

This paper addresses the issue of public perception of modern biotechnology in the Netherlands. Contrary to expectations, data from the 1999 Eurobarometer on biotechnology indicate that the position of the Dutch public in general is rather ambiguous, which is in contrast to many of its neighboring countries. The issue is described in terms of differences between the Netherlands and other European countries on political-economic, social-cultural, or media coverage indicators. On many indicators, the Dutch population differs from that of other European countries, and the Dutch opinion-leading media present a rather balanced perspective on modern biotechnology.

Questions of timing, phasing and sequence have been central to recent critiques of science policy-making, which have highlighted sustained disjunctures between the relevance and importance given to different stakeholders at different moments in the policy-making process. In this paper we expand upon this recent 'upstream/downstream' literature through a case study analysis of xenotransplantation (XTP), one of the defining controversies of 1990s UK biotechnology regulation. Drawing on insights from the sociology of expectations we trace the emergence of a UK policy narrative concerning the future of XTP and explore how the policy role became narrowly defined as a process of 'reflex regulation', based upon technologically determinist assumptions and producing extremely short-term decision-making. We draw attention to the concrete costs of this delineation of the policy role and reveal that it is neither inevitable or necessary, by considering contrasts between the policy temporalities of the UK, Canada and the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the reactions to gene technology (the intention to buy gene-tech food, worry about abuse, and the public's desire that different actors be able to influence decisions) in a sample of the Dutch population (n = 1010) and studies the relationship between these reactions and perception, trust, experience, knowledge and personal interest. The survey reveals that large parts of the public are concerned about the abuse of gene technology, are not willing to buy gene-tech products, and want actors to have an influence on legislation and enforcement. Path analysis shows that these reactions can be well explained using a generic model. Trust in authorities, personal interest in gene technology, and perception of gene technology are important predictors of people's reactions, whereas experience and knowledge are less important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in biotechnology present difficult social and ethical challenges that need to be resolved by regulators among others. One crucial problem for regulators of new technologies is to ensure that regulation is both clear and sufficiently flexible to respond to new developments. This is particularly difficult to achieve in contentious fields such as medical biotechnology. In the European Union there is a divergence in the solutions to this problem which has lead to different regulatory frameworks for medical biotechnology. This paper compares and contrasts the British and Dutch regulatory frameworks for the selection of embryos by preimplantation genetic diagnosis as an example of the regulation of medical biotechnology. Some of the outcomes of the regulatory choices and possible reasons behind the divergent frameworks are discussed, such as the ethical outlooks and political systems in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternatives to donor blood have been developed in part to meet increasing demand. However, new biotechnologies are often associated with increased perceptions of risk and low acceptance. This paper reviews developments of alternatives and presents data, from a field-based experiment in the UK and Holland, on the risks and acceptance of donor blood and alternatives (chemical, genetically modified and bovine). UK groups perceived all substitutes as riskier than the Dutch. There is a negative association between perceived risk and acceptability. Solutions to increasing acceptance are discussed in terms of implicit attitudes, product naming and emotional responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To provide executives in the pharma/biotech industries with a pragmatic understanding about a holistic approach for dealing with ‘leadership’ issues relating to knowledge utilisation within organisations and teams.Methodology/approach: this paper proposes a methodology which addresses issues raised about the failure of strategies, projects and knowledge management programmes. An illustrative case study of a real-time exercise involving a number of these issues provides real-world understanding of the approach.Findings: Complex issues around leadership and knowledge can be handled using an holistic, systemic approach and delivering outputs and outcomes across a number of areas of key importance to the team or organisation.Research Limitations/implications: The methodology has been tested in numerous organisations over a 10-year period across the private sector, the public sector and the not-for-profit sector. Examples include Organon pharmaceuticals across three continents; Biogen biotechnology in France and Netherlands; Turku School of Economics and Business Administration in Finland; and Henley Management College, UK. The leadership components come from a DBA thesis by author P.A. The thesis includes a review of the leadership theory. The Leadership Culture Display diagnostic covers values and behaviours across the team. The repository of scores is growing as the instrument becomes more widely used.Originality/value: The strategic techniques used come from the Seven Management and Planning Tools developed originally by the Japanese in the 1970 s and 1980 s. This original approach has been further developed by the authors. The knowledge constructs are not only systematic, but also systemic. Parts of the approach make use of analysis, but the systemic parts make use of synthesis. The ‘big picture’ or roadmap, that is generated, is an example of real-world ‘joined-up-thinking’.Journal of Medical Marketing (2006) 6, 94–104. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jmm.5050019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotechnology is increasingly regarded as an important reservoir for the development of new and innovative, but generally expensive, pharmaceuticals. At the same time, concerns about cost containment have triggered a keen interest in evaluating and comparing the values of diverse health care interventions. In this paper we studied the process of assessment and diffusion of biotechnology drugs by studying three cases, i.e. nebacumab, colony stimulating factors and recombinant human growth hormone. These cases are evaluated in a standardised format, concerning safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness and ethical, legal and social issues. Many factors that determine the fate of a biotechnology drug seemed to be similar to those of 'classical' drugs. The definition and measurement of clinically relevant outcomes has been identified as a key factor in the assessment process. Another important issue is the relatively small population for the primary indications of biotechnology drugs and the subsequent process of broadening of indications. Paradoxically, the current trend towards evidence-based medicine means that we will increasingly have to make decisions based on 'incomplete' knowledge'.

Pharmacogenomics is a quickly evolving field of research that increasingly impacts individuals and society. As some innovations in biotechnology have experienced strong public opposition during the 1990s, interaction between producers and users of these innovations may help in increasing their success in social and economic terms. However, conditions for effective interaction have so far remained under-explored. This paper explores user-producer interactions in pharmacogenomics from an innovation and science communication perspective in the Netherlands. To find possible ways of engaging stakeholders in an early stage of technology development, ie, when science policy is in the making, we present communication activities derived from the field of policy analysis. To articulate motives for two-way public participation in genomics innovation processes, we describe two levels at which pharmacogenomics developments will have an input:1) at the meso-level of medical practice with already established medical technologies, values and routines, suppliers and health professionals (general practitioners, pharmacists), and 2) at the macro-level of society at large, with established institutions, infrastructures, and broadly shared values and beliefs among citizens in general. Thereby we offer a starting point for optimising decision-making processes in the field of pharmacogenomics innovations, including important aims to be reached, stakeholders to be involved, and some criteria for designing interactive communication activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced gene editing techniques such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR)/Cas have increased the pace of developments in the field of industrial biotechnology. Such techniques imply new possibilities when working with living organisms, possibly leading to uncertain risks. In the Netherlands, current policy fails to address these uncertain risks because risk classification is determined process‐wise (i.e., genetically modified organism [GMO] and non‐GMO), there is a strong focus on quantifiable risks, and the linearity within current governance (science–policy–society) hinders iterative communication between stakeholders, leaving limited room to anticipate uncertainties at an early stage of development. A suggested concept to overcome these shortcomings is the Safe‐by‐Design (SbD) approach, which, theoretically, allows stakeholders to iteratively incorporate safety measures throughout a technology's development process, creating a dynamic environment for the anticipation of uncertain risks. Although this concept originates from chemical engineering and is already widely applied in nanotechnology, for the field of biotechnology, there is no agreed upon definition yet. To explore the possibilities of SbD for future governance of biotechnology, we should gain insight in how various stakeholders perceive notions of risk, safety, and inherent safety, and what this implies for the applicability of SbD for risk governance concerning industrial biotechnology. Our empirical research reveals three main themes: (1) diverging expectations with regard to safety and risks, and to establish an acceptable level of risk; (2) different applications of SbD and inherent safety, namely, product‐ and process‐wise; and (3) unclarity in allocating responsibilities to stakeholders in the development process of a biotechnology and within society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based results of innovation policies stimulating the use of academic patents and thereby contributing to the development of economic sectors are scarce. This article describes the effects of a policy instrument (BioPartner programme) to commercialise scientific research during the emerging stage of the biotechnology sector in the Netherlands. From the year 2000, this instrument provided funding for the reimbursement of academic biotechnology patent applications and assistance with the creation of spin-offs. We studied general trends in biotechnology patent applications in the time period between 1990 and 2009 and quantified the appropriation of academic biotechnology patents by the industry. Biotechnology patent classification codes and the PATSTAT database of the European Patent Organisation were used to define and identify all Dutch biotechnology patent applications. Matching the data from these applications with the names of some 65,000 potential Dutch academic inventors and 3,400 Dutch academic patents, we found a net contribution of the policy instrument of approximately 20 per cent of all Dutch biotechnology patent applications. However, the policy instrument did not result in an increase in the overall number of biotechnology patent applications or their use in the sector. Our data suggest that BioPartner contributed to improve the ′business culture using biotechnology patents′ at universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A standardized set of definitions was needed in the field of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) to standardize and harmonize international data acquisition and to monitor the availability, efficacy, and safety of assisted reproductive technology (ART) worldwide. In order to provide accurate national data, the use of a terminology list which was composed and negotiated by the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) is essential, and a translation into Dutch was crucial for its implementation in Belgium and the Netherlands. Method: The authors of the Dutch article translated the English publication that appeared simultaneously in Human Reproduction and Fertility and Sterility in 2009. A consensus text was obtained after evaluation by experts in the field of MAR both in the Netherlands and in Belgium and then by the board of the respective organizations of obstetrics and gynecology. It was then sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) for approval of publication. Result: A translation into Dutch of the ICMART terminology of 2009 was obtained after consensus was reached on clinical and laboratory procedures, outcome variables, and birth. Conclusion: The availability and use of standardized terminology and its translation into Dutch will add to a more standardized communication between professionals responsible for the practice of ART and for those responsible for national, regional, and international registries. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the value of trust as a construct in understanding how R&D alliances collaborate over time. A review of literature leads to specific expectations on alliance coordination mechanisms needed to be applied by high-tech companies to secure effective cooperation. I pose trust as a prerequisite for knowledge sharing and innovative performance (Rolland & Chauvel 2000; Norman 2004; Gilsing & Nooteboom 2006) in addition to traditional modes of governance such as contracts and other formal control mechanisms. As such it is crucial to understand the link between knowledge transfer, trust and alliances in knowledge intensive and innovative industries. Based upon an exploratory comparison in the human health industry in The Netherlands between two groups of companies in respectively the start-up and mature stage of their organizational life-cycle an exploration is made on how trust can be used to gain a better understanding of how transaction costs influence R&D alliances. The exploratory findings suggest that in high dynamic markets companies use trust as an informal coordination mechanism for R&D alliances. However, trust does not reduce the necessity of contracts. Trust reduces the uncertainty between alliance partners and the frequency of interaction, but it does not result in an increase of asset specific investments. Still trust can result in a decline of overall transaction costs of R&D alliances. I conclude that trust is a useful construct in extending our understanding on how R&D alliances collaborate over time and emphasize the value of incorporating reputation in the discussion around trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how consumer behavior has been influenced by the media coverage of biotechnology in the U.S. and in the Netherlands. In both cases, national-level, syndicated point-of-purchase scanner data has been used to estimate brand-level consumer demand. It provides statistical evidence on the influence of media coverage of biotechnology on consumer purchasing behavior. In the first, media coverage of biotechnology and biotech foods was substantial and sustained over a five-year period. The tone was generally negative and reporting frequently raised the spectacle of health risks, though such risks were not specifically confirmed. In this environment, Dutch consumers could choose between food products that were labeled as containing GM ingredients and unlabeled ones containing only conventional ingredients. In the second environment, media coverage was acute but brief, negative, and focused almost exclusively on food safety risks that should have been perceived as credible by U.S. consumers.

Provides information on the decision of the government of the Netherlands to challenge a directive of the European Parliament and Council on the regulation of biotechnological inventions states which inventions involving plants, animals or the human body may be patented. Requirement for the protection through national patent laws; Violation of procedural rules in adoption of the proposal of the Commission; Absence of guarantees for the consent of the donor of genetic material.