At Brown Bag Seminars, faculty and graduate students engage in knowledge sharing in a collegial environment where they explore a broad range of research topics and working papers. Join the Department of Management on November 2 for a talk by accounting professor Fred Pries.

Bring your lunch – we’ll bring the beverages!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Professor Fred Pries
Topic: Risk factors affecting emerging technology based industries

The case of the biofuels industry Governments make significant investments in scientific research and development. But it is businesses that turn the resulting technologies into new products and services. Innovation is risky and these risks come from many sources. Companies attempt to limit and manage their risk, and the perceived risks associated with new technologies will affect the extent to which businesses adopt new technologies. The biofuels industry is an example of an emerging industry in which growth has stalled. The purpose of this paper is to identify some of the barriers to growth in the biofuels industry. We do this by addressing the research question: What are the most important risks facing companies in the biofuels industry?

We analysed 625 risk factors disclosed by 24 publicly traded biofuel companies. We found that the most important risk factors related to management and management processes, and to market conditions and profitability. We found that biofuel companies generally view technological risks, including those related to intellectual property protection, as less significant. Our study responds to the call for more research on the effect of risk on technological innovation and also has numerous implications for R&D management and for policy makers looking to support emerging technology based industries.