Innovation capabilities and performance of biotechnology firms

Purpose This paper aims to provide empirical evidence regarding the relationship between different capabilities and innovation performances in the biotechnology sector, in the case of Mexico. Design/methodology/approach Given the aforementioned objective, this paper constructs different indicators on types of capabilities and innovative performances and, based on them, performs an econometric analysis based on a logit model. The work assumes the central assumptions of the firm's evolutionary theory and, in this sense, seeks to provide quantitative empirical evidence that explains the way in which the construction of different types of capacities determines the innovation results of Mexican firms in the biotechnology sector. Findings Corroborating the previous empirical evidence in analysis of firm’s capabilities in the biotechnology sector, this work empirically states that productive, absorption, technological and innovative capabilities positively influence the innovative performance of Mexican biotechnology firms. Originality/value This work examines a central theme linked to the current analysis of innovation and knowledge processes: the relationship between the organizational capacities of firms in the biotechnology sector and their innovative performance. Through a detailed analysis based on a national survey of Mexican biotechnology firms, this work underlines the importance of generating a new type of reflection on linkage among capabilities, innovation, paradigms and trajectories, technological opportunities, relationship dynamics among actors and modes of insertion into the biotechnology value chain.