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Un cas d'innovation: l'isoglucose

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  • Zitt, M.

Abstract

Among the post-war technological innovations in the food processing area, High Fructose Corn Syrup is an outstanding case from several points of view : economical and political issues, scientific and technical significance, complexity of the innovation process. Milestones of the historical process are reviewed. Each of three converging branches (corn syrup processing, carbohydrate isomerizing, enzyme immobilisation) displays a specific kind of logic. The innovation process scheme is compared with classical hypotheses dealing with the economic determination of technical progress: a) early economic information of the innovation process, b) positive effect of industrial concentration on innovation. First, it is argued that in this case the so-called « marked pressure » and « technological opportunity » logic, when precisely combined in typical « technological transfers », are complementary rather than antagonistic. On the second point, the history of HFCS suggests that efficiency of industrial concentration, very high in the last stages (innovation), decreases when going back to the invention stages. Then the returns on the R-D investments in the HFCS market were rewarded to individual firms while the oligopolistic structure remained unaffected.

Suggested Citation

  • Zitt, M., 1983. "Un cas d'innovation: l'isoglucose," Économie rurale, French Society of Rural Economics (SFER Société Française d'Economie Rurale), vol. 158.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ersfer:350072
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.350072
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carman, Hoy F. & Thor, Peter K., 1979. "High Fructose Corn Sweetners: Economic Aspects of a Sugar Substitute," Information Series 263852, University of California, Davis, Giannini Foundation.
    2. Kamien, Morton I & Schwartz, Nancy L, 1975. "Market Structure and Innovation: A Survey," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 1-37, March.
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