nep-tid New Economics Papers
on Technology and Industrial Dynamics
Issue of 2005‒07‒18
two papers chosen by
Francesco Lissoni
Universita degli Studi di Brescia

  1. Do External Knowledge Spillovers Induce Firms’Innovations? Evidence from Slovenia By Jože P. Damijan; Andreja Jaklic; Matija Rojec
  2. University Invention, Entrepreneurship, and Start-Ups By Celestine Chukumba; Richard Jensen

  1. By: Jože P. Damijan; Andreja Jaklic; Matija Rojec
    Abstract: The paper analyses whether, and to what extent, firm’s ability to innovate is induced by firm’s own R&D activity and to what extent by factors external to firm. It first estimates the impact of firms' internal R&D capital and external R&D spillovers on firms' innovation activity within an integrated dynamic model. In the second step, we then estimate the impact of firms'innovations on firms’ productivity growth. Using the firm level data on innovation activity combined with firms' financial data for a large sample of Slovenian firms in the period 1996-2002, the paper produces three main findings. First, firm’s own R&D expenditures as well as external knowledge spillovers, such as national and international public R&D subsidies, foreign ownership and intra-sector innovation spillovers do enhance firm’s ability to innovate. Second, innovations as a result of firm’s R&D do contribute substantially to firm’s total factor productivity growth. And third, foreign ownership has a double impact on firm’s TFP growth - it first enhances firm’s ability to innovate and then it additionally contributes to firm’s TFP growth via superior organization techniques and other channels of knowledge diffusion.
    Keywords: innovation, external knowledge spillovers, FDI, Slovenia
    JEL: D24 F14 F21
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lic:licosd:15605&r=tid
  2. By: Celestine Chukumba; Richard Jensen
    Abstract: This paper develops a game-theoretic model that predicts when a university invention is commercialized in a start-up firm rather than an established firm. The model predicts that university inventions are more likely to occur in start-ups when the technology transfer officers (TTOs) search cost is high, the cost of development or commercialization is lower for a start-up, or the inventor's effort cost in development is lower in a start-up. We test the theory using data from the Association of University Technology Managers, the National Research Council, and the National Venture Capital Association. Licensing is more likely in general, and especially so in start-ups, by universities with higher quality engineering faculty and older TTOs. Start-ups are more likely by universities in states with larger levels of venture capital. TTO size has no effect on start-ups, but does increase licenses. Conversely, universities that earn greater licensing royalties have fewer start-ups but more licenses. The number of start-ups is decreasing in the interest rate, increasing in the S&P 500, and unaffected by levels of industrial research funding and the presence of a medical school. All of these results are consistent with the predictions of our theory.
    JEL: L31 O31 O32
    Date: 2005–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11475&r=tid

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