Abstract:
The life sciences provide growth potential for small economies, and are consequently a priority for the New Zealand Government. While a small domestic market means firms must internationalise in order to survive, New Zealand’s geographic isolation presents barriers to engaging with the global life science industry. To overcome disadvantages of size and distance, New Zealand life science firms are encouraged to attend specialised international industry events. However, evaluating the effectiveness of such participation is difficult. While the traditional marketing trade show literature offers some insight, the focus is on sales efficiency rather than the less tangible benefits of knowledge flows and relationship building. Furthermore, it focuses on large firms and economies in the northern hemisphere. The geographic economics literature offers a more contemporary view. International industry events (e.g. conventions, conferences, and tradeshows) are proposed as ‘temporary clusters’, bringing geographically dispersed firms together for short periods of time. While these interactions have been suggested to support relationship and network development, the effects on internationalisation are not addressed. Overall, there is a lack of integration between the streams of literature. This thesis integrates the marketing and geographic economics literature in order to increase insight into network formation and knowledge exchange at industry events, and hence internationalisation. It draws on both literatures to inform research into the benefits of attending large, specialised industry trade shows for firms located in small, isolated economies. A case study of attendance at BIO2016 and 2017 in the US drew on interviews with eight key decision makers in New Zealand biotechnology companies. The interviews were supported by participant observation within the biotechnology industry, conversations with members of a government industry support organisation, analysis of that organisation’s database pertinent to industry event attendance, and conversations with expert informants from the New Zealand innovation ecosystem. Finally, secondary data analysis provided context from publicly available sources. A new conceptual framework identified two antecedents driving determinant factors for industry event outcomes: firm objectives, and firm representative skills and traits. Four traits characterised an ideal attendee: (1) Confidence and independence, (2) extroversion and energy, (3) persistence and focus (4) effective interpersonal and communication skills. Three sets of factors determined quality of returns on participation: (1) Pre-event (preparation education, pre-event promotion and contact), (2) during event (seminar attendance, social events, one-on-one partnering meetings, walking the exhibition hall floor, serendipitous events) and (3) post-event (follow-up, reflection and evaluation) activities. The determinant factors drove the quality of three outcomes: (1) Image building, (2) information acquisition, and (3) relationship development, which in turn supported internationalisation. None of these outcomes could have been achieved without in-person attendance at the industry event. Overall, the study found that effective participation in temporary clusters was a crucial element in the internationalisation process of firms from small, isolated economies.