26th International Association for Management of Technology Conference - IAMOT 2017

In the era of globalization, with shorter technology and product life cycle, it is not only the technological development, but its commercial exploitation that makes the difference. Thus commercializing technologies successfully with reduced time to market becomes crucial for organizations not only to survive but also to gain competitive advantage worldwide. Limited non-renewable resources, increasing environmental and health concerns (air pollution, crop productivity, vaccination) has made biotechnology sector as a potential source to contribute towards the national growth. India is amongst the top 12 biotechnology destinations in the world and ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region. However it is found that Indian biotechnology sector has recorded lowest growth (of 6.98 %) in last 12 years for the year 2014 indicating gap for technology commercialization (TC) in biotechnology sector in Indian context. In existing literature various TC models - Linear (Goldsmith model, biotech innovations sequential model) and Non-linear (Jolly’s model, Allen model) have been proposed. However these models lag to address specific requirements of biotechnology commercialization especially in Indian context like specialized infrastructure and raw material, and longer gestation period. In addition it is also observed that the linkage between the stages of TC process and factors influencing these individual stages has been studied in a very limited way. Therefore the objective of research is to understand the TC in biotechnology sector in Indian context and to identify the factors influencing success of biotechnology commercialization. An exploratory descriptive research design is selected through qualitative approach. A case study method is selected to understand the TC process by mapping with existing models. Evidences are collected through in-depth interviews with senior management of an organization. A case of bio-ethanol production has been selected and analyzed through explanation building technique. The successful commercialization of bio-ethanol production can lead to lowered fuel prices and reduced air pollution. From the case analysis three factors were identified with the addition of new stage in the existing TC process model. This research will add useful dimension to the existing body of TC process models by adding useful element and enriching TC process models in Indian context. The case analysis highlights the significance of the interactions between university, industry, and government for managing the technology. Thus it will help organizations as well as policy makers to formulate strategies and policies respectively to enhance biotechnology commercialization in India.