Enhancing productivity through effective collaborations : the barriers and enablers of collaboration within geographic bioclusters

Increasing competition and specialization of firms in the life sciences industry has led to recognition of the need for collaboration. Bioclusters, the co-location of life sciences entities in a specific geographic area, have therefore emerged as a global trend. While it is assumed that such clusters allow stakeholders to realize synergies through participation and presence in the local area, the collaborative behavior within these clusters has yet to be explored. The goal of this study was to characterize the barriers and enablers of effective collaboration within bioclusters, and amongst their key stakeholder groups. This study directly compared the bioclusters of San Diego and Singapore to gain an understanding of their relative collaborative environments. San Diego, with cluster longevity of over 40 years, provided an example of organic growth, given its roots in entrepreneurial activities. The Singapore cluster, still in an embryonic state, has a history of organized growth due to the leadership, support, and funding of the Singaporean government. The study of clusters that differ in history of formation and longevity of presence provided the breadth of information needed for an effective comparison of their collaborative environments and approach to collaborative endeavors.

Department dc:contributor.department

Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Bahri, Rupa

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Ernst Berndt and Frank Douglas.

• Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39569

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39569