Regulamentação dos riscos e estratégias das empresas em biotecnologia

Resumo

This paper discusses strategic decision making in firms pursuing biotechnology
innovation and the influence of risk regulation on firm strategy. Data from three
research projetcs, involving interviews with over 60 managers from agricultural and
food related biotechnology companies and also over 60 key participants in the
regulatory process in the UK and EC, shows a diversity of strategy and opinion.
While some industry representatives identified new risk regulations governing the
release of genetically manipulated organims (GOMs) as the primary constraint on
biotecnology innovation, the findings of the study painted a more complex picture.
The controversies surrounding the issue of risk regulation and its impact on innovation
are best understood if viewed in the context of other political and economic
factors. We conclude that the actual impact of risk regulation on industry strategies
is probably less than the rhetoric of industry lobbyists would suggest. At the same
time, the very act of lobbying so forcefully could lead to a public backlash against
industry that would be much more damaging than the regulation itself.