STRATEGIC RESEARCH INTERESTS, ORGANIZATIONAL-BEHAVIOR, AND THE EMERGING MARKET FOR THE PRODUCTS OF PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY

As plant biotechnology products become commercialized, some researcher s have questioned the goals of organizations using this new technology . Just and Hueth believe that chemical/pesticide companies will domina te plant biotechnology research and will not develop plants that can s ubstitute for chemicals. Other economists, such as Teece, believe that firm-specific resources rather than existing markets determine firm g rowth. In this vein, it is hypothesized that differences among pestici de and other firms leads to a diverse range of plant biotechnology-der ived plants. The main conclusion is that firm-specific resources rathe r than existing firm business categories determine research effort. It is also concluded that since firm resources and business interests va ry within organizational groupings, firms within the same industry may seek growth in diverse ways. Plant biotechnology field-test permit da ta is used to support these conclusions.