Working Paper: NBER ID: w11447
Authors: Jinyoung Kim; Sangjoon John Lee; Gerald Marschke
Abstract: We use U.S. patent records to examine the role of research personnel as a pathway for the diffusion of ideas from university to industry. Appearing on a patent assigned to a university is evidence that an inventor has been exposed to university research, either directly as a university researcher or through some form of collaboration with university researchers. Having an advanced degree is another indicator of an inventor's exposure to university research. We find a steady increase in industry's use of inventors with university research experience over the period 1985-97, economy wide and in the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries in particular. We interpret this as evidence of growth in the influence of university research on industrial innovation. Moreover, during this period we find that firms with large research operations in both industries, and young and highly capitalized firms in the pharmaceutical industry, are disproportionately active in the diffusion of ideas from the university sector. Finally, we find that the patents of firms that employ inventors with university research experience are more likely to cite university patents as prior art, suggesting that this experience better enables firms to tap academic research.
Keywords: university research; industrial innovation; patent citations; research personnel; technology transfer
JEL Codes: J62; O31; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Close interaction with researchers (O36) | Firms learn about university research (O36) |
| Sustained close interaction with researchers (O36) | Enhanced ability to access academic research (I23) |
| Large research operations and young, highly capitalized firms (D29) | Disproportionately active in diffusing ideas from the university sector (O36) |
| Industry employment of inventors with university research experience (O39) | Increased influence of university research on industrial innovation (O36) |
| Employment of inventors with university backgrounds (O39) | Increase in percentage of industry patents (O39) |
| Firms employing inventors with university research experience (O36) | More likely to cite university patents as prior art (O34) |
| Employment of university-experienced inventors (O39) | Greater use of university research in firms (O36) |