Beyond Technonationalism ― Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Asia

The biomedical industry, which encompasses biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, is among the fastest growing worldwide. While it has been an economic development target of many national governments, Asia is currently on track to reach the epicenter of this growth. What accounts for the rapid and sustained economic growth of biomedicals in Asia?

To answer this question, Kathryn Ibata-Arens presents a conceptual framework that considers how national governments have managed key factors, like innovative capacity, government policy, and firm level strategies. Taking China, India, Japan, and Singapore in turn, she compares each country's underlying competitive advantages. What emerges is an argument that countries which pursue networked technonationalism (NTN) effectively upgrade their capacity for innovation and encourage entrepreneurial activity in targeted industries. In contrast to countries that engage in classic technonationalism—like Japan's developmental state approach—networked technonalitionalists are globally minded to outside markets, while remaining nationalistic within the domestic economy.

Bringing together aggregate data at the global and national level with original fieldwork, Beyond Technonationalism assesses technonational vision and policy history, drawing on rich cases to fill explanatory gaps in discussions of the "Asian Miracle." By way of this analysis, Ibata-Arens telegraphs implications for innovation policy and entrepreneurship strategy in Asia—and beyond.