This paper investigates the existence and nature of knowledge-spillovers at the micro-level and, in turn,the capacity of firms to absorb new ideas generated in R&D laboratories. It evaluates the merits for a firmof attracting or retaining “key” inventors, or assembling a wide team of inventors. First, using the EPO-OECD data, we identify “key” and “normal” inventors by means of the Hill’s estimator. Then, we test thehypothesis that the presence of one “key” inventor in a firm’s R&D laboratory would have a positive effecton the Italian firms output. Our results are threefold: 1) the patent portfolio positively affects the valueof production; 2) the simple presence of “key” inventors in a R&D laboratory does not significantly affectthe output; 3) for a given number of patent applications by firm, a less concentrated patents distributionacross inventors employed in the same R&D laboratory makes a positive impact on the production.
Rota, M., Schettino, F., Spinesi, L. (2017). Key inventors, teams and firm performance: The Italian case. STRUCTURAL CHANGE AND ECONOMIC DYNAMICS, 42, 13-25 [10.1016/j.strueco.2017.05.002].
Key inventors, teams and firm performance: The Italian case
Luca Spinesi
2017-01-01
Abstract
This paper investigates the existence and nature of knowledge-spillovers at the micro-level and, in turn,the capacity of firms to absorb new ideas generated in R&D laboratories. It evaluates the merits for a firmof attracting or retaining “key” inventors, or assembling a wide team of inventors. First, using the EPO-OECD data, we identify “key” and “normal” inventors by means of the Hill’s estimator. Then, we test thehypothesis that the presence of one “key” inventor in a firm’s R&D laboratory would have a positive effecton the Italian firms output. Our results are threefold: 1) the patent portfolio positively affects the valueof production; 2) the simple presence of “key” inventors in a R&D laboratory does not significantly affectthe output; 3) for a given number of patent applications by firm, a less concentrated patents distributionacross inventors employed in the same R&D laboratory makes a positive impact on the production.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.