Catching-up in agricultural innovation: the case of Bacillus thuringiensis cotton in India

The agricultural sector plays an important role in the provision of food, foreign exchange, and sustainable energy within many developing countries. This sector, however, has not been considered as a driving force of innovation and productivity increase in comparison to other sectors in the economy. However, recent economics and international business literature suggests that the agricultural sector (i) has become knowledge intensive with the rise of biotechnology and (ii) is a sector where firms in developing countries can play an important role in the innovation process, given their context-specific or in situ knowledge-based capital. In this article, we present a conceptual framework that characterizes the knowledge base required for agricultural innovation against the backdrop of globalization and rise of biotechnology. We then apply the framework to examine the catch-up of Indian seed firms with Bacillus thuringiensis technology, an insect-resistant seed technology used in cotton hybrids. We focus on the role of the knowledge base in the catch-up process, specifically examining the dynamics of knowledge creation or acquisition by local seed firms based on their interactions with global as well as other local players. Our analysis reveals the diverse pathways followed by local firms to catch-up, and that the firms with the ability to efficiently integrate location-specific (in situ) and scientific (global) were able to successfully catch-up and compete in domestic seed markets.