Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
partners,.rather.than.waiting.to.be.approached.with.a.proposal,.requires.more.effort.
up.front,.it.gives.the.public.institution.the.greatest.degree.of.control.over.the.selec-
tion.of.partners,.which.implicitly.deine.the.control.that.the.public.institution.will.
have.over.the.remainder.of.the.structuring.process..In.addition,.by.actively.approach-
ing.potential.partners.in.the.private.sector,.a.public.institution.can.form.a.consortium.
with.a.group.of.specialized.partners.if.that.better.suits.the.public.institution's.objec-
tive.. This. active. approach. can.substantially. broaden. the. public. institution's. choice.
set..Likewise,.a.proactive.approach.on.the.part.of.a.private.irm.can.increase.their.
control.in.the.bargaining.process.
Once. a. partner. is. selected,. the. public. and. private. institutions. engage. in. nego-
tiations.that.result.in.a.contract.that.allocates.to.each.of.the.partners.a.share.of.the.
front-end.control.rights.and.back-end.property.rights..The.front-end.control.rights.
enumerate.the.resources.committed.by.both.partners.and.give.the.partners.decision-
making. power. over. the. partnership's. R&D. processes,. and. the. back-end. property.
rights. specify. the. manner. in. which. the. partnership's. assets. will. be. distributed. at.
the.conclusion.of.the.partnership..At.the.end.of.this.stage,.the.partners.invest.in.the.
partnership.according.to.the.contract.
In.this.negotiation,.each.partner.works.to.minimize.its.share.of.input.while.mak-
ing.sure.the.combined.resources.will.be.suficient.for.a.successful.joint.effort..The.
commitment.of.resources.in.the.front-end.is.fairly.transparent;.however,.the.implica-
tions.of.choosing.particular.governing.structures.for.the.partnership.are.less.trans-
parent..Given.the.diversity.of.assets,.it.is.dificult.for.potential.partners.to.balance.
their.respective.asset.contributions..These.assets.can.be.tangible,.as.with.inancial.
assets.or.equipment,.or.intangible.“knowledge”.assets.
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.Unlike.tangible.assets,.the.
value.of.intangible.assets.is.not.easily.deined.as.it.relies.on.many.factors.such.as.
the.nature.of.the.assets.and.the.degree.of.complementarity.
Knowledge.assets.may.be.tacit.(e.g.,.know-how).or.codiiable..Tacit.knowledge.
draws. on. skills. and. techniques. and. is. transferred. by. demonstration,. apprentice-
ships,. personal. instruction,. and. provision. of. expert. services.. Codiiable. knowl-
edge.can.be.reduced.to.messages.and.is.easily.transferred..Knowledge.assets.can.
assume.the.form.of.a.nonrivaled.or.inexhaustible.good..In.other.words,.sharing.this.
information.will.not.reduce.the.amount.available.to.others..Although.nonrivaled,.
these.assets.are.not.necessarily.public.goods.since.it.may.be.possible.to.exclude.
access. by. others.. This. is. certainly. true. of. patents,. copyrights,. and. trade. secrets..
To.be.sure,.exclusive.control.over.a.speciied.set.of.knowledge.assets.creates.rents.
for. its. holders.. A. further,. important. distinction. is. between. generic. and. special-
ized.assets.
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.Generic.assets.are.useful.for.most.research,.such.as.basic.scientiic.
knowledge.concerning.biotechnology.research..In.contrast,.specialized.assets.are.
suited.to.a.narrow.set.of.speciic.applications.that.can.be.more.easily.commercial-
ized..In.the.area.of.plant.R&D,.these.assets.can.be.further.characterized.as.input-.
(e.g.,.herbicide-resistant.transgenic.seed).or.output-trait.assets.(e.g.,.high-nutrient.
content.seeds).
Identifying.these.aspects.of.the.partner's.assets.is.important.to.create.complemen-
tarities.among.the.different.assets.held.by.the.public.and.private.partners,.and.when.
negotiating.over.the.contributions.each.partner.will.make.to.the.relationship..Private.
institutions.are.likely.to.have.more.access.to.funding,.state-of-the-art.scientiic.tools,.
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