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Academic entrepreneurship

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Author Info

  • Nicola Lacetera

    (Department of Economics, Weatherhead School of Manangement, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA)

Abstract

This paper proposes a model of the choice to commercialize research, of the amount and type of pre-commercial research to perform, and of the timing of commercialization by an academic scientist, and analyzes the returns and costs of these choices. The behavior and performance of the academic scientist is compared with that of an industrial researcher. Unlike the industrial researcher, the academic scientist receives direct benefit from performing research, e.g. in the form of publication and peer recognition. However, the type of research that is more effective in reducing commercialization costs may not be the one generating the highest scientific benefit. It is shown that, while in some cases the academic scientist is more reluctant to commercialize research, in other cases she may commercialize faster than a solely profit-seeking agent would-and perform less research. Academic and non-academic scientists also select different projects, and this may explain the good performance of academic entrepreneurs found in several empirical studies. The model offers a unified framework to interpret the mixed evidence on the success of, and the arguments in favor and against, the involvement of universities into commercial activities. Managerial and public policy implications are also examined. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/mde.1461
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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. in its journal Managerial and Decision Economics.

Volume (Year): 30 (2009)
Issue (Month): 7 ()
Pages: 443-464

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Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:30:y:2009:i:7:p:443-464

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Web page: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/7976

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References

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  1. Bronwyn Hall & Albert N. Link and John T. Scott, 2000. "Universities as Research Partners," Economics Series Working Papers 2000-W18, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
  2. Henderson, Rebecca. & Cockburn, Iain., 1994. "Measuring competence? : exploring firm effects in pharmaceutical research," Working papers 3712-94., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
  3. Isabel Maria Medalho Pereira, 2007. "Incentives for Interdisciplinary Research," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 720.07, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
  4. Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby, 1995. "Virtuous Circles of Productivity: Star Bioscientists and the Institutional Transformation of Industry," NBER Working Papers 5342, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Richard Nelson, 1962. "The Link Between Science and Invention: The Case of the Transistor," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 549-584 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  6. Albert Banal-Estañol & Inés Macho-Stadler, 2007. "Financial Incentives in Academia: Research versus Development," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 693.07, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
  7. Nerkar, Atul & Shane, Scott, 2003. "When do start-ups that exploit patented academic knowledge survive?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(9), pages 1391-1410, November.
  8. Andrew Toole & Dirk Czarnitzki, 2007. "Biomedical Academic Entrepreneurship through the SBIR Program," NBER Chapters, in: Academic Science and Entrepreneurship: Dual Engines of Growth National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  9. Rinia, E. J. & van Leeuwen, Th. N. & van Vuren, H. G. & van Raan, A. F. J., 2001. "Influence of interdisciplinarity on peer-review and bibliometric evaluations in physics research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 357-361, March.
  10. Murray, Fiona, 2004. "The role of academic inventors in entrepreneurial firms: sharing the laboratory life," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 643-659, May.
  11. Roberto Mazzoleni, 2005. "University patents, R&D competition, and social welfare," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 14(6), pages 499-515.
  12. Jensen, Richard A. & Thursby, Jerry G. & Thursby, Marie C., 2003. "Disclosure and licensing of University inventions: 'The best we can do with the s**t we get to work with'," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 21(9), pages 1271-1300, November.
  13. Emmanuel Dechenaux & Brent Goldfarb & Scott A. Shane & Marie C. Thursby, 2003. "Appropriability and the timing of innovation: Evidence from MIT inventions," NBER Working Papers 9735, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  14. Franklin, Stephen J & Wright, Mike & Lockett, Andy, 2001. " Academic and Surrogate Entrepreneurs in University Spin-Out Companies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 26(1-2), pages 127-41, January.
  15. Cockburn, Iain M & Henderson, Rebecca M, 1998. "Absorptive Capacity, Coauthoring Behavior, and the Organization of Research in Drug Discovery," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 157-82, June.
  16. Argyres, Nicholas S. & Liebeskind, Julia Porter, 1998. "Privatizing the intellectual commons: Universities and the commercialization of biotechnology," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 427-454, May.
  17. Marie Thursby & Richard Jensen, 2001. "Proofs and Prototypes for Sale: The Licensing of University Inventions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 240-259, March.
  18. Nicolas Carayol & Thuc Uyen Nguyen Thi, 2005. "Why do academic scientists engage in interdisciplinary research?," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 70-79, April.
  19. Simcha Jong, 2006. "How organizational structures in science shape spin-off firms: the biochemistry departments of Berkeley, Stanford, and UCSF and the birth of the biotech industry," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 15(2), pages 251-283, April.
  20. Josh Lerner, 2005. "The University and the Start-Up:Lessons from the Past Two Decades," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 30(2_2), pages 49-56, 01.
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Citations

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Cited by:
  1. Albert Banal-Estañol & Inés Macho-Stadler, 2007. "Financial Incentives in Academia: Research versus Development," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 693.07, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
  2. Banal-Estanol, A. & Macho-Stadler, I., 2008. "Commercial Incentives in Academia," Working Papers 08/13, Department of Economics, City University London.
  3. Czarnitzki, Dirk & Rammer, Christian & Toole, Andrew A., 2013. "University spinoffs and the 'performance premium'," ZEW Discussion Papers 13-004, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research.
  4. Schneider, Cédric & Hussinger, Katrin & Czarnitzki, Dirk, 2008. "Commercializing Academic Research: The Quality of Faculty Patenting," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-069, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research.
  5. Toole, A.A. & Czarnitzki, Dirk, 2009. "Exploring the relationship between scientist human capital and firm performance: The case of biomedical academic entrepreneurs in the SBIR Program," Open Access publications from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven urn:hdl:123456789/205828, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
  6. Fini, Riccardo & Lacetera, Nicola & Shane, Scott, 2010. "Inside or outside the IP system? Business creation in academia," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1060-1069, October.
  7. Callaert, Julie & Van Looy, Bart & Foray, D & Debackere, Koenraad, 2007. "Combining the production and the valorization of academic research: A qualitative investigation of enacted mechanisms," Open Access publications from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven urn:hdl:123456789/120602, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
  8. Wennberg, Karl & Wiklund, Johan & Wright, Mike, 2011. "The effectiveness of university knowledge spillovers: Performance differences between university spinoffs and corporate spinoffs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1128-1143, October.
  9. Francesco LISSONI (GREThA, CNRS, UMR 5113) & Fabio MONTOBBIO (KITeS, Université BOCCONI - Milan), 2012. "The ownership of academic patents and their impact. Evidence from five European countries," Cahiers du GREThA 2012-24, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée.

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