The central objective of the present paper is to examine how university bioscientists select their research agendas, with special attention to biotechnology firms' influence on those agendas. Among other issues, we will assess UIRs' potential effects on the private appropriability of the...

Uncertainty of returns from marketing is an extremely important factor affecting the diffusion of a wide range of genetically modified (GM) crops worldwide. Biotech companies face complicated choices in making decisions about whether to enter agricultural markets in different countries with...

In this paper, the case of the Italian fruit-drink industry is presented to discuss the strategic issues of product-innovation in imperfectly competitive markets. In particular, three main topics are addressed: the incentives to the adoption of innovation-based strategies, R&D investments in...

Computer technologies have evolved very rapidly and, compared to other businesses, farm operations have been slow to adopt computer applications. This paper investigates the key characteristics of the farm operators and farm businesses that influence computer use. To that end, data from...

This farmer utilizes cutting edge technology to drive business efficiency, profitability, along with agronomic and staff managing practices. This 5,300ha continuous cropping operation at Newdegate WA relies on advanced agronomic practices to assist the sustainability of the fragile landscape....

Although there is increasing emphasis on targeting of improved technology towards poor and female farmers, few adoption studies assess the uptake of new practices by these groups in a comprehensive manner. In this study, community members used the wealth ranking method to identify the different...

The measurement of the impact of technical change has received significant attention within the economics literature. One popular method of quantifying this impact of technical change is the use of growth accounting index numbers. However, in a recent article Nelson and Pack (1999) criticise the...

This study estimates the total benefit arising from the adoption of agricultural biotechnology in one year (1997) and its distribution among key stakeholders along the production and marketing chain. The analysis focuses on three biotech crops: herbicide-tolerant soybeans, insect-resistant (Bt)...

This study examines media coverage of genetically modified (GM) crops in a risk communication framework. Content analysis is employed to investigate how specific environmental, food safety, and landmark events, such as the monarch butterfly and Pusztai controversies, and the cloning of...

With a sample of nearly 18,611 utility patents, this paper studies the technology mix of 90 of the world's leading food and beverage multinationals (FBMs) over 1969-1994. It explores the statistical association between patenting in food technology and in non-food technological fields. Food...