A high-tech trajectory in a commodity-dependent economy: modern biotechnology in Norway

The chapter contributes to studies of technological trajectories, that is, trajectories as the paths by which innovations in a given field occur. Studies of technological trajectories have usually addressed the global level, whereas there has been little attention on how various nations relate to such global trajectories. Treating modern biotechnology as a technological trajectory, the chapter maps the biotechnology related firms and policies for the case of Norway, a location which is allegedly peripheral in relation to the spearhead of the global trajectory. For firms, there was a period of initial emergence and first results, followed by periods of attempted consolidation and contradictions. For policies, there was a period of policy formation followed by a period of mainly basic research and marine biotech focus and a period with a new pluralistic policy. Overall the country’s part of the global biotechnology trajectory has not yet reached a mature phase.