Do Firms Benefit from Being Present in Multiple Technology Clusters? An Assessment of the Technological Performance of Biopharmaceutical Firms.

LECOCQ C., LETEN B., KUSTERS J. and VAN LOOY B. Do firms benefit from being present in multiple technology clusters? An assessment of the technological performance of biopharmaceutical firms, Regional Studies. Firms active in knowledge-intensive fields are increasingly organizing their research and development activities on an international scale. This paper investigates whether firms active in biotechnology can improve their technological performance by developing research and development activities in multiple technology clusters. Regions in Europe, Japan and the United States, characterized by a critical mass in terms of technological activity within biotechnology, are identified as clusters. Fixed-effect panel data analyses with fifty-nine biopharmaceutical firms (for the period 1995-2002) provide evidence for a positive, albeit diminishing (inverted 'U'-shape) relationship between the number of technology clusters in which a firm is present and its overall technological performance. This effect is distinct from a mere multi-location effect.