Interorganizational Relationships in the Amazon Biotech Industry Based on Entrepreneurs´ Perceptions

Abstract

The process of industrial restructuring has adopted different types of relationships in order to guarantee the organizations survival and development. Bioindustry requires high technical-scientific investments that are obtained through partnerships. These collaborative relationships, however, have been challenging in Brazil. In the Amazon context, where value adding in the use of biodiversity resources bears high importance for regional sustainable development, studies point to difficulties of interaction between bioindustry firms, university, and government. Against this backdrop, this research analyzes the perception of entrepreneurs operating in the Amazon bioindustry regarding the inter-organizational relationships. Qualitative research was carried out with thirteen firms, collecting data based on network pictures, complemented with semi-structured interviews. The study identified that attributes such as friendship and trust are primary factors in the relationships, and that the complementarity of resources is the main reason to establish partnerships. However, the findings suggest that inter and intra-sectorial relationships in this Amazon bioindustry are far behind what is recommended in literature to affirm the existence of a business network. Therefore, the study points out the need for strategic actions to approximate these actors in bioindustry.

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