A new industry creation and originality: Insight from the funding sources of university patents

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.     

Working with distant researchers—Distance and content in university–industry interaction

This paper studies the role of geographic proximity for interaction on R&D, by exploring the special case of formalised university–industry interaction in the engineering sector. While numerous studies find that geographic proximity facilitates spillover effects between university and industry by utilising evidence from e.g. patenting and publishing activities, the geographical dimension is largely understudied in studies that report evidence from direct interaction. A series of interviews with R&D managers suggests that linkages in geographical proximity are more likely than distant linkages to generate impulses to innovation and create significant learning effects at the firm. Similarly, geographic proximate interaction is more likely to successfully contribute to R&D projects with short time to market. For long-term R&D projects, geographic proximity is generally seen as a less critical factor. A survey to 425 R&D managers in Swedish engineering firms provides evidence that supports these hypotheses.     

When publications lead to products: The open science conundrum in new product development

This paper examines interdependencies between firms’ activities in the realms of open science and commercial product development. We present a theoretical framework that outlines when a firm’s involvement in academic communities enhances its innovative performance in terms of new products in development. We argue that the disclosure of more, valuable R&D work in quality scholarly publications and collaborations with academic partners positively affect firm innovation. We further hypothesize a differential effect of adopting open science strategies on the innovation type, being more pronounced for radical innovations than for incremental innovations. We empirically analyze a unique panel dataset containing information on the product innovation performance and R&D activities of 160 UK therapeutic biotechnology firms over the period 1998- 2009. Our results from count data models on the number of new products in development provide empirical support for our hypotheses.     

Resources and research: An empirical study of the influence of departmental research resources on individual STEM researchers involvement with industry

This paper investigates the influence of departmental level characteristics and resources on individual involvement with industry using a national survey of STEM faculty. An integrative model of industry involvement is developed and tested that integrates a multi-level perspective on university–industry relations. Three measures of industry involvement are tested: the amount of time a researcher spends with industry, the number of activities a researcher engages in, and the intensity of those activities. Results of the model show that the quality of human capital in a researcher's home department is a significant influence on industry involvement. Non-federal R&D expenditures and direct industry funding also positively increase the likelihood of industry involvement. Policy and managerial implications of the results are discussed.     

罕用药政策对生物医药产业的影响——基于美国生物科技公司的案例研究

美国罕用药物法案本意是用来鼓励制药产业研发和生产不具有商业价值的罕见药物,但是这项政策却对美国生物制药产业起到了关键性的推动作用。本文首先介绍了美国罕用药物法案颁布的背景及其所提供的优惠政策并回顾了颁布以来所取得的成就,然后以美国最成功的四家生物科技公司的发展为案例分析了罕用药物法案对美国生物医药产业的影响,结果表明通过科技推动和经济拉动罕用药物政策不但鼓励了罕用药的研发和生产还成功地推动了美国生物医药产业发展。     

What drives the formation of ‘valuable’ university–industry linkages?: Insights from the wine industry

Most of the literature on university–industry (U–I) linkages assumes that these linkages are beneficial per se. We question this assumption, suggesting that not all such linkages are equally helpful. In this paper, we explore the factors driving the formation of ‘valuable U–I linkages’, conceived as those linkages between universities and firms that have a higher potential to diffuse knowledge to other firms in their regional economy. Our empirical strategy combines case-study methodology with econometric techniques using data from two wine clusters in Chile and in Italy. The firm's knowledge base is found to be a key driver of ‘valuable’ U–I linkages. We conclude that selectivity should be encouraged among policy makers endeavouring to promote U–I linkages.     

Reforming intellectual property rights and the Bt cotton seed industry in China: Who benefits from policy reform?

China has been one of the leaders in agricultural biotechnology research and the adoption of transgenic plants. Despite this, critics argue that China's biotechnology policies could be improved to provide more benefits to farmers. The objective of the paper is to examine if policy changes could improve the welfare of farmers in the cotton industry. The paper first reviews recent changes in laws and policies that affect China's plant biotechnology sector—with a focus on IPR legislation and seed industry reform. Next, using a primary data set collected from 1661 plots from a sample of farmers in northern China in 1999, 2000 and 2001, we econometrically estimate the effect of changes to intellectual property rights (IPR) and seed industry reform on farmer pesticide use and yields. Our results are consistent with a conclusion that improvements to the IPR environment and greater commercialization of the seed industry can increase the benefits that farmers derive from new cotton technology.     

Reconsidering the Bayh-Dole Act and the Current University Invention Ownership Model

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 provided U.S. universities with the right to commercialize employees’ inventions made while engaged in government-funded research. This paper argues that the current university invention ownership model, in which universities maintain de jure ownership of inventions, is not optimal either in terms of economic efficiency or for advancing the social interest of rapidly commercializing technology and encouraging entrepreneurship. We argue that this model is plagued by ineffective incentives, information asymmetries, and contradictory motivations for the university, the inventors, potential licensees, and university technology licensing offices (TLOs). These structural uncertainties can lead to delays in licensing, misaligned incentives among parties, and obstacles to the flow of scientific information and the materials necessary for scientific progress. The institutional arrangements within which TLOs are embedded have encouraged some of them to become revenue maximizers, rather than facilitators of technology dissemination for the good of the entire society.We suggest two alternative invention commercialization models as superior alternatives. The first alternative is to vest ownership with the inventor, who could choose the commercialization path for the invention. For this privilege the inventor would provide the university an ownership stake in any returns to the invention. The inventor would be free to contract with the university TLO or any other entity that might assist in commercialization. The second alternative is to make all inventions immediately publicly available through a public domain strategy or, through a requirement that all inventions be licensed non-exclusively. Both alternatives would address the current dysfunctional arrangements in university technology commercialization.     

Vertical alliance networks: The case of university-biotechnology-pharmaceutical alliance chains

Many young biotechnology firms act as intermediaries in tripartite alliance chains. They enter upstream partnerships with public sector research institutions, and later form commercialization alliances with established, downstream firms. We examine the alliance activity in a large sample of biotechnology firms and find: (i) firms with multiple in-licensing agreements are more likely to attract revenue-generating alliances with downstream partners; however, (ii) the positive relationship between in-licenses and downstream alliances attenuates as firms mature, and (iii) the diversity and the quality of the academic connections of firms’ principals influences their chances of successfully acquiring commercialization rights to scientific discoveries in universities.     

Termination outcomes of research alliances

We draw upon evolutionary economics and transaction cost economics to examine how alliance experience accumulation at the parent firm level and alliance features at the transaction level jointly and interactively shape the favorability of research alliances’ termination outcomes. Fifteen percent of the terminated alliances we examined were successful, 34% were failures, and 51% experienced an intermediate outcome in the form of contract expiration or unilateral withdrawal by a partner. We find that the effect of partner-specific experience on the favorability of termination outcomes is greater for non-equity alliances than for equity structures affording stronger formal governance mechanisms. Other forms of experience such as general alliance experience or prior alliances in the same technological area as the focal agreement have no such favorable consequences for alliance termination. The findings also indicate that alliance complexity adversely influences firms’ termination outcomes in alliances. We therefore find evidence in partial support of both evolutionary and transaction cost based arguments for the explanation of termination outcomes in research alliances.     

Intellectual capital or signal? The effects of scientists on alliance formation in knowledge-intensive industries

Hiring employees with advanced education, training, and experience has been a prevalent human resource practice in dynamic science-based industries, and a growing body of literature has demonstrated the importance of scientists in such fields. Little research has attempted to distinguish the functional from the symbolic roles of scientists, however. We develop an integrative theoretical framework to separate the productive and legitimating effects of scientists on strategic alliance formation of firms. Results from a longitudinal analysis of more than 300 U.S. biotechnology firms between 1988 and 1999 suggest a positive relationship between ratio of scientists and R&D alliance partners as well as a positive relationship with finance alliance partners. Scientists influence partner attraction more strongly for firms that are less-well-connected, and they become less prominent in fostering finance ties as the industry practice of partnership becomes more institutionalized. We conclude that scientists serve more than just a research function in knowledge-intensive industries. Implications for building interorganizational networks and managing human resources in such industries are discussed.     

互动导向的新兴产业政策决策过程研究

本文采用纵贯研究、内容分析、访谈相结合的定性研究方法,以推动我国物联网产业发展的三个政策决策过程为研究对象,旨在探讨不确定性的情况下,互动是如何帮助政府进行政策决策的。研究结论表明:第一,互动是政府进行宏观政策决策的基石。新兴产业的政策决策是由数个渐进式决策阶段组成,每个阶段中建立在互动基础上的微观政策的决策和实施为推动力量。第二,新兴产业政策决策过程中存在五种互动方式,并且互动主导者因行政职位或决策事项的不同采取不同的互动方式。第三,随着决策事项的渐进式演变,互动规律存在显著差异。研究结论为政策决策者建立互动导向的政策决策机制,更好地推动我国战略性新兴产业发展提供了依据与建议。     

基于产业互动和根植性的天津航空产业集群培育探索

从促进产业互动和根植性的角度,对天津航空产业如何培育产业集群进行了分阶段的发展思路探讨。     

一种新的P2P流媒体直播系统方案

文章通过对P2P流媒体直播系统相关技术的研究和分析,概况并总结了现有技术的优缺点,在此基础上提出了一种新的P2P流媒体直播系统方案。该方案采用基于单树一多树结合的组播树构建方法,并给出了相应的节点管理策略。通过实验,该方案提高了流媒体直播系统的实时性、可用性和服务质量。