Integrated Versus Core-Periphery Structures in Regional Biotechnology Networks

This paper examines the importance of networks of interfirm cooperation in biotechnology. As in other knowledge-intensive industries, network-like cooperation is suggested to be a critical factor for companies as they enable the unobstructed exchange of information and knowledge. A discussion of the extant literature reveals two competing perspectives on corporate networks in high-tech industries. While one group of actors has argued that due to the high importance of information and knowledge in these industries, companies are embedded in dense interorganizational collaboration networks, others have suggested that a dense core may be distinguished from a sparse periphery in these networks. By applying a network analytical approach we test both propositions empirically for a regional network in biotechnology. Our findings show that the assumption of dense interorganizational networks does not seem to hold true. Instead, we find support for the assumption that within regional networks, a considerable number of companies are only loosely connected to the network's dense core.