Interorganizational Relationships in the Amazon Biotech Industry Based on Entrepreneurs´ Perceptions

Abstract The process of industrial restructuring has adopted different types of relationships in order to guarantee the organizations survival and development. Bioindustry requires high technical-scientific investments that are obtained through partnerships. These collaborative relationships, however, have been challenging in Brazil. In the Amazon context, where value adding in the use of biodiversity resources bears high importance for regional sustainable development, studies point to difficulties of interaction between bioindustry firms, university, and government. Against this backdrop, this research analyzes the perception of entrepreneurs operating in the Amazon bioindustry regarding the inter-organizational relationships. Qualitative research was carried out with thirteen firms, collecting data based on network pictures, complemented with semi-structured interviews. The study identified that attributes such as friendship and trust are primary factors in the relationships, and that the complementarity of resources is the main reason to establish partnerships. However, the findings suggest that inter and intra-sectorial relationships in this Amazon bioindustry are far behind what is recommended in literature to affirm the existence of a business network. Therefore, the study points out the need for strategic actions to approximate these actors in bioindustry.

摘要：产业结构调整进程中，各类组织需构建多元合作关系以保障自身生存与发展。生物产业（Bioindustry）依赖高额科技投入，此类投入往往通过伙伴关系获取。然而，这类协作关系在巴西却面临诸多挑战。在亚马逊地区，生物多样性资源的开发增值对区域可持续发展具有关键意义，已有研究指出该区域内生物产业企业、高校与政府之间的互动存在明显困境。在此背景下，本研究针对亚马逊流域生物产业从业者对组织间关系的认知展开分析。研究采用质性研究方法，对13家企业开展调研，通过绘制关系网络图收集数据，并辅以半结构化访谈。研究发现，友谊与信任等关系属性是组织间合作的核心影响因素，资源互补则是建立伙伴关系的主要动因。然而，研究结果表明，亚马逊流域生物产业的行业间与行业内合作关系，距离学术文献中所提出的成熟商业网络标准仍存在较大差距。因此，本研究提出需通过战略举措推动该生物产业各参与主体加强协同联动。