Building Regional Competencies: The Industrial Enzymes Industry

This paper analyzes the foundations of regional knowledge and its long-term impact onthe region's companies' and how a particular knowledge has developed an ability tostay competitive within a specific technological field. The case illustrates how theCopenhagen region has been able to develop a dominating position in the global marketfor industrial enzymes from 1870-2004. The case of industrial enzymes shows how aregion has been able to build sustainable competitive advantages from its distinctivecompetencies. This is done through a mixture of outsourcing and in sourcing ofcompetencies, knowledge and technologies from other regions in a ramified set ofinteracting networks. The key personnel within the regions firms are deliberatelyallowed to engage in the formations of these non-disclosure network activities so thatprofessional knowledge communities has been established across regional boundariesand thereby formed the basis for globalization of the knowledge and the markets forindustrial enzymes. Last but not least the paper demonstrates how the region's majorfirm, Novozymes, the world-leading manufacturer of industrial enzymes, even beforethe term virtual organization came into fashion, positioned itself as an interactivepartner in the center of a globalized system of academic institutions, customers andclients.