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Today's Edisons or Weekend Hobbyists: Technical Merit and Success of Inventions by Independent Inventors

Author

Listed:
  • Kristina Dahlin

    (Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto - University of Toronto)

  • Margaret Taylor

    (GSPP - Goldman School of Public Policy [Berkeley] - UC Berkeley - University of California [Berkeley] - UC - University of California)

  • Mark Fichman

    (Tepper School of Business - CMU - Carnegie Mellon University [Pittsburgh])

Abstract

We set out to determine if independent inventors can be considered 'heroes' or 'hobbyists', that is, if they produce the most or the least influential inventions in a product category. We study patented inventions by independent and firm-based inventors by comparing patents along four dimensions: Patent citation impact, detail, scope, and maintenance. Examining 225 tennis racket patents granted in the US between 1981 and 1991, we find that independent inventors are a heterogeneous group who generate inventions that are overrepresented both among the most impactful and the least impactful patents. The metrics we develop provide insight into ex ante identification of the importance of inventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristina Dahlin & Margaret Taylor & Mark Fichman, 2004. "Today's Edisons or Weekend Hobbyists: Technical Merit and Success of Inventions by Independent Inventors," Post-Print hal-00480420, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00480420
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2004.06.003
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Conti, Annamaria & Liu, Christopher C., 2015. "Bringing the lab back in: Personnel composition and scientific output at the MIT Department of Biology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1633-1644.
    2. Boyan Jovanovic & Peter L. Rousseau, 2014. "Extensive and Intensive Investment over the Business Cycle," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(4), pages 863-908.
    3. Aaron K. Chatterji & Kira Fabrizio, 2012. "How Do Product Users Influence Corporate Invention?," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(4), pages 971-987, August.
    4. Madeline K. Kneeland & Melissa A. Schilling & Barak S. Aharonson, 2020. "Exploring Uncharted Territory: Knowledge Search Processes in the Origination of Outlier Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(3), pages 535-557, May.
    5. Jasjit Singh & Lee Fleming, 2010. "Lone Inventors as Sources of Breakthroughs: Myth or Reality?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(1), pages 41-56, January.
    6. Paola Criscuolo & Ammon Salter & Anne L. J. Ter Wal, 2014. "Going Underground: Bootlegging and Individual Innovative Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 1287-1305, October.
    7. Davis, Lee N. & Davis, Jerome & Hoisl, Karin, 2009. "What Inspires Leisure Time Invention?," Discussion Papers in Business Administration 10457, University of Munich, Munich School of Management.
    8. Ren, Haiying & Zhao, Yuhui, 2021. "Technology opportunity discovery based on constructing, evaluating, and searching knowledge networks," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    9. Pieper, Thorsten & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2018. "User innovation barriers and their impact on user-developed products," Working Papers 106, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    10. Tietze, Frank & Pieper, Thorsten & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2013. "To own or not to own: How ownership affects user innovation - An empirical study in the German rowing community," Working Papers 73, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute for Technology and Innovation Management.
    11. Capponi, Giovanna & Martinelli, Arianna & Nuvolari, Alessandro, 2022. "Breakthrough innovations and where to find them," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).

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