Revision Date:Jul 22, 2009 Publication Date:Mar 04, 2009
Source:Harvard Business School English Hardcopy Black & White
Also Available in: |English Hardcopy Black & White|| Biofuels
start-up KiOR was developing a proprietary technology that had
the potential to dramatically impact the emerging renewable
energy landscape: a process that converted cellulosic biomass
into "bio-crude," a hydrocarbon mixture with properties to those
of crude oil. KiOR had been operating as a virtual organization,
but with venture financing in place, founder and chief
technology officer Paul O'Connor and the KiOR board needed to
decide where to headquarter their business. To examine trade-
offs when choosing where to locate firm. (Access to capital,
access to talent, proximity to customers, cost of land and
labor, coordination costs) with the additional element of an
emerging technology field. Energy; Entrepreneurship; Location of
industry; Natural resources; Plant location; Start-ups; Strategy
- Event Year Begin: 2008