The Increasing Multifunctionality of Agricultural Raw Materials: Three Dilemmas for Innovation and Adoption

Agricultural raw materials are increasingly being used for multiple industries or sectors beyond the traditional fiber and nutrition industries: energy in the form of ethanol and biodiesel, industrial products such as polymers and bio-based synthetic chemicals and fibers, and pharmaceutical/health products such as functional foods, growth hormones and organ transplants. A combination of the new science of biotechnology, the new potential end uses of the products of that science and the broadened social/public goals that these products can respond to surfaces at least three fundamental challenges or dilemmas: (1) the competing goals dilemma, (2) the incumbent vs. new entrant competition dilemma, and (3) the industry boundaries dilemma. This paper reviews the innovation and adoption research related to renewables and the bio-economy, and then frames the three dilemmas with the objective of identifying important research issues and the conceptual frameworks that might be useful to analyze these issues.