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Science and industry evolution: evidence from the first 50 years of the German laser industry

Author

Listed:
  • Guido Buenstorf

    (University of Kassel
    INCHER
    University of Gothenburg
    IWH Leibniz Institute of Economics Halle)

  • Dominik P. Heinisch

    (INCHER
    University of Kassel)

Abstract

Industry evolution is driven by innovation. Scientific research is an important source of innovation-relevant knowledge. To trace its impact on industry evolution, we follow the entry and exit of firms from various backgrounds over the first five decades of the German laser industry. We find that academic startups became increasingly competitive after substantial changes were introduced to the governance of university-industry relationships. Their enhanced performance helps explain why no shakeout in firm numbers has been observed to date. Doctorate-holding inventors contributed to the performance of entrants, indicating that the impact of scientific knowledge on industry evolution goes beyond academic entrepreneurship.

Suggested Citation

  • Guido Buenstorf & Dominik P. Heinisch, 2020. "Science and industry evolution: evidence from the first 50 years of the German laser industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 523-538, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:54:y:2020:i:2:d:10.1007_s11187-018-0032-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-018-0032-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Henning & Maureen McKelvey, 2020. "Knowledge, entrepreneurship and regional transformation: contributing to the Schumpeterian and evolutionary perspective on the relationships between them," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 495-501, February.
    2. Ethan Gifford & Guido Buenstorf & Daniel Ljungberg & Maureen McKelvey & Olof Zaring, 2021. "Variety in founder experience and the performance of knowledge-intensive innovative firms," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 677-713, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industry evolution; Scientific knowledge; Academic entrepreneurship; Doctoral training; Laser;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L10 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - General
    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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