This paper investigates the process of and factors leading to a successful restoration of international competitiveness of the German biotechnology industry. Though falling behind the United States and other European countries until the beginning of t...
This paper investigates the process of and factors leading to a successful restoration of international competitiveness of the German biotechnology industry. Though falling behind the United States and other European countries until the beginning of the 1990s due mainly to very restrictive legislative environment and public resistance, Germany started a catch-up since the mid-1990s. With the help of a series of consistently devised support measures of the federal government, including the BioRegio contest, the German biotech industry effectively restored its expected leading position, at least among the European countries. A closer scrutiny reveals that the success is especially accruable to two balances: the balance between the role of government and business sectors; the balance between the role of federal and local governments.