A New Industry Creation and Originality: Insight from the Funding Sources of University Patents

Posted: 16 Dec 2014

See all articles by Marco Guerzoni

Marco Guerzoni

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS)

David B. Audretsch

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA)

T. Taylor Aldridge

Independent

Sameeksha Desai

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

Date Written: December 15, 2014

Abstract

Scientific breakthroughs coming from universities can contribute to the emergence of new industries, such as in the case of biotechnology. Obviously, not all research conducted in universities leads to a radical change from existing technological trajectories. Patents and patent dynamics have long been recognized as critical in understanding the emergence of new technologies and industries. Specifically, patent citations provide insight into the originality of a discovery that has received patent protection. Yet while a large body of literature addresses the impact of patent originality on various firm performance measures, we address the question of what conditions drive patent originality in the process of knowledge creation within the university. Using data on patented cancer research, we examine how research context – as reflected by the funding source for each scientist – is associated with patent originality. We find that when university scientists are partly funded by their own university, they have a higher propensity to generate more original patents. By contrast, university scientists funded either by industry or other non-university organizations have a lower propensity to generate more original patents. The significance of our findings in the cancer research setting call for further research on this question in other research fields.

Suggested Citation

Guerzoni, Marco and Audretsch, David B. and Aldridge, T. Taylor and Desai, Sameeksha, A New Industry Creation and Originality: Insight from the Funding Sources of University Patents (December 15, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2538714

Marco Guerzoni (Contact Author)

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Economics, Management and Statistics (DEMS) ( email )

Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1
Milan, 20126
Italy

David B. Audretsch

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) ( email )

1315 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

T. Taylor Aldridge

Independent ( email )

Sameeksha Desai

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation ( email )

4801 Rockhill Road
Kansas City, MO 64110-2046
United States

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