Working Paper: NBER ID: w28203
Authors: Matt Marx; David H. Hsu
Abstract: Which factors shape the commercialization of academic scientific discoveries via startup formation? Prior literature has identified several contributing factors but does not address the fundamental problem that the commercial potential of a nascent discovery is generally unobserved, which potentially confounds inference. We construct a sample of approximately 20,000 “twin” scientific articles, which allows us to hold constant differences in the nature of the advance and more precisely examine characteristics that predict startup commercialization. In this framework, several commonly-accepted factors appear not to influence commercialization. However, we find that teams of academic scientists whose former collaborators include “star” serial entrepreneurs are much more likely to commercialize their own discoveries via startups, as are more interdisciplinary teams of scientists.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: L26
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Prior collaboration with successful entrepreneurs (M13) | Likelihood of commercialization via startups (M13) |
| Interdisciplinary teams of scientists (Y80) | Likelihood of commercialization (R33) |
| Resource availability (Q21) | Likelihood of commercialization (R33) |
| Discovery team composition (O36) | Likelihood of commercialization (R33) |