Persistance and change in coordinated market economies: the case of venture capital for biotechnology in Switzerland

Abstract

"The institutional configuration of Switzerland resembles the ideal type of coordinated market economies (CMEs) which are said to be highly supportive for incremental innovations but not for radical innovations like biotechnology. Therefore, the emergence and success of Swiss biotechnology comes as a surprise. Against this background, our paper deals with the biotechnology sector in Switzerland. Special attention will be drawn on venture capital. It can be shown that Switzerland has formed a specific variant of venture capital which nicely has adapted to its institutional context. The case thus indicates that technological innovations have the effect that some elements of LMEs can be incorporated into CMEs. However, this occurs incrementally and in accordance with the overall institutional configuration." (author's abstract)