ABSTRACT

In the previous part, I began my exploration of the emergence of the field of nanotechnologies with an outline of nanotechnology entrepreneurship. It was based on three indicators: nanotechnology R&D, nanotechnology research centers and infrastructures and, finally, nanorelated patent activity. Among other findings, I revealed that institutional funding and R&D orientations play an important role in nanotechnology entrepreneurship, and that sustainable development was one of the drivers of nanotechnology entrepreneurship. In this section, I focus on regulatory practices. My objective in the next pages is to demonstrate that regulatory practices play a vital role in the development of nanobased activities. My longer-term goal is to show that change in regulatory practices signals change in institutional emergence: on the one hand, nanotechnologies are creating a context that is conducive to regulatory change, and at the same time, change in regulatory practices influences the shaping of the field through its impact on nanotechnology entrepreneurship.