Milking partners or symbiotic know-how enhancement? International versus national alliances in Japan's biotech industry

This paper is about (research) alliances among companies as a strategy to overcome Japan's weakness in basic R&D. New biotechnology is selected as an interesting case in point. Does co-operation in the field of biotechnology primarily aim at gaining access to scientific resources and commercial success ("milking partners"), or is it an interactive "give and take" in order to combine the strengths of both partners? A two-fold empirical investigation was undertaken: two databases containing worldwide alliances in biotechnology were explored and around 20 case studies were conducted. International and national partnerships as well as the role of the state and universities are examined. The analysis indicates that several motives for co-operating are relevant. At an international level, one of the major reasons is to gain access to technology, while balanced partnerships are also increasing. At a national level, Japanese firms often tend to refrain from providing access to internal scientific resources and frequently regard joint government-sponsored R&D as unavoidable, but without major positive results expected.