Albert N. Link

In light of a history of legislative actions in the United States to encourage collaborative R&D, this book characterizes U. S. collaborative R&D through the eyes of the National Research Joint Venture Database. Facilitating a fresh statistical look at collaborative R&D as a purposive strategy in the light of existing public policies, this book also provides a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of those attendant policies. Through an original project-based micro database, the author reveals the patterns of competitive behavior associated with collaborative R&D. Accompanied by follow-up statistical and econometric analyses, readers are not only confronted with what might be the most complete picture of U. S. collaborative R&D to date, but they are also provided with key indications of the effectiveness of U. S. legislative actions which is set to inspire further collaborations in research.

The Globalization of the Bayh-Dole Act examines an overlooked metric associated with the impact of the Bayh-Dole Act, namely its effect on influencing university-based technology transfer policies in other countries. To substantiate this thesis, Bayh-Dole like university technology transfer policies in 20 other countries are reviewed. In an effort toward an assessment of these Bayh-Dole like policies, the monograph explores in each country higher education expenditures on research and development (R&D) before and after the Bayh-Dole like policies were adopted. The authors conclude that, in terms of this metric, in some countries the Bayh-Dole like policies have been more effective than in others.

This book is about inventions and innovation in U. S. Federal Laboratories. The inventions discussed are defined by the technology transfer mechanism known by the term invention disclosures, and the innovations that follow are outputs from the technology transfer process. The demonstrated positive relationships in the book's model are the groundwork for suggesting not only a rethinking of the extant empirical research, within the context of a knowledge production function, but also a refocusing of U. S. technology policy in support of technology transfer from Federal Laboratories. Invention, Innovation and U. S. Federal Laboratories brings a comprehensive and accessible discussion of technology transfer to academic researchers in economics, public policy, and public administration, as well as to policy makers and Federal Laboratory directors.

Technology Transfer and US Public Sector Innovation provides an overview of US technology policies that are the genesis for observed technology transfer activities. By describing the technology transfer process from US federal laboratories and other public sector organizations, this exploration informs the reader in detail of how the transfer process behaves and the social benefits associated with it. Empirical information and evidence are presented on myriad forms of technology transfer including, but not limited to, patents, licenses and CRADA activity. Publications are a form of technology transfer as are new metrics that quantify the efficiency of the technology transfer process. Link and Oliver's work will be of great use to public policy makers in industrialized countries, scientists in federal laboratories worldwide and academic researchers. In addition, it will hold an important position in national and academic libraries.

In order to understand collaborative research activity in the United States, it is important to understand the contextual environment in which firms pursue a collaborative research strategy. The U. S. environment for formal collaborative research was established through a number of policy initiatives promulgated in the 1980s in response to the widespread productivity slowdown throughout industry that began in the early 1970s and then intensified in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These initiatives include the Bayh–Dole Act of 1980, the Stevenson–Wydler Act of 1980 and its amendments, the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 and its amendments, and the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986. Collaborative Research in the United States offers a critical and retrospective description of collaborative research activity in the United States in an effort to provide a prospective framework for policymakers to evaluate future policy initiatives to encourage such strategic behavior. The analysis that underlies the policy framework draws from the performance of U. S. firms’ experiences, presenting a quantitative foundation for recommendations about future policy initiatives. It will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of critical management studies, strategic management, economics, and public policy.

This volume examines the involvement of minority- or women-owned businesses in technology-based research, with particular focus on the differences in research outcomes in achieving commercialization. Specifically, the authors empirically investigate the correlation between technologies from projects funded through the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the minority or gender demographics of the owners of the businesses conducting the research. This study offers an opportunity to not only examine public-sector agencies’ investments in research, but also to investigate if there are race and/or gender gaps in such business’ participation in innovative activities. It also provides a means to understand innovation by minorities and women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Investments in fundamental science and technology research and investments in human capital through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education areimportant building blocks of innovation. Two methods of fueling innovation are to 1) accelerate the commercialization of federally funded research and 2) ensure opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Despite this understanding, there is still a disparity in the rates of educated men and women in STEM fields participating in entrepreneurship. Moreover, the link between underrepresentation of minorities and women across STEM fields correlates with entrepreneurial entry and performance. This book expands on these findings and estimates the probability that (1) a funded research project reaches completion, (2) the developed technology is commercialized, and finally (3) the commercialized technology is successful in the marketplace (i.e., the business gained revenue and market share from the technology).

Sources of Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Behavior delves into the nature and importance of the relationship between sources of knowledge and entrepreneurial behavior, and should be of interest to both academics and policy-makers. David B. Audretsch and Albert N. Link use the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship as the conceptual foundation for why individuals decide to become entrepreneurs. Then, using a database of more than 4,000 small and relatively new European companies from 10 different countries, called the AEGIS database, Audretsch and Link offer new insights about the relationship between knowledge sources and entrepreneurial behavior. In their analysis of the empirical evidence in support of the Knowledge Spillover Theory of Entrepreneurship, Audretsch and Link conclude that there is no singular source of knowledge driving entrepreneurship, but a plethora of knowledge sources, each associated with different dimensions of entrepreneurial activity. The intellectual breakthrough in this book is not that knowledge matters or that it especially matters for entrepreneurship. Rather, Audretsch and Link show that knowledge, and especially entrepreneurial knowledge, is not a homogeneous phenomenon. There are multiple sources of knowledge that act on entrepreneurial performance in a myriad of ways.

Provides a nontechnical reference source of the relevant social science and policy literature on nanotechnology. The authors hope to engender not only a greater appreciation of the economic and social benefits of nanotechnology but also to encourage more extensive research and public support of this technology. Section 2 briefly overviews U. S. policy initiatives related to nanotechnology and to the systematic investment in research that the U. S. Congress has approved to advance it over the nearly past two decades. Section 3 summarizes these U. S. research investments into nanotechnology and compares dimensions of nanotechnology activity in the United States to activity in other countries. Section 4 offers a taxonomy and overview of the relevant social science and policy literature related to nanotechnology. The taxonomy is a subjective classifying device for tracking the growth of this literature over time; the overview is a descriptive summary of how researchers in these disciplines have characterized the practice of nanotechnology. The appendix to this monograph presents an annotated bibliography of this literature. The extensive annotated bibliography fills a gap in the literature because the reviews that exist are limited in scope, and the review points out the lack of policy research related to public investments in nanotechnology. Finally, Section 5 suggests specific directions for future policy research with a focus on a methodology for evaluating the social benefits of publicly funded nanotechnology R&D investments.

This book examines knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) with a focus on the European textile and apparel industries. The primary purpose is to review the extant academic literature related to the European textile and apparel industries and reflect on that review empirically using a new and robust database on KIE to discover patterns between human capital and strategic entrepreneurial and innovative behavior. According to the Advancing Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Growth and Social Well-being in Europe (AEGIS) project, KIE is defined as an interface between knowledge generation and diffusion and the productive system. Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs are thus involved in mechanisms that translate knowledge into innovation, which in turn leads to economic development and growth within an industry and/or region. To date, KIE is often associated with high-tech industries such as aerospace, computer engineering, automotive or telecommunications. For this reason, few studies have been conducted that specifically examine KIE as an avenue for firm or sector growth in the textile and apparel industries. However, new studies have positioned these industries as ones in which KIE can foster growth through innovation, and where products and processes are often evaluated within a knowledge-based framework. Building on this growing literature base, this volume explores potential policies and strategies for driving innovation and growth at the firm and industry levels in Europe and other regions, including the United States.

This book examines knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship (KIE) with a focus on the European textile and apparel industries. The primary purpose is to review the extant academic literature related to the European textile and apparel industries and reflect on that review empirically using a new and robust database on KIE to discover patterns between human capital and strategic entrepreneurial and innovative behavior. According to the Advancing Knowledge-Intensive Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Economic Growth and Social Well-being in Europe (AEGIS) project, KIE is defined as an interface between knowledge generation and diffusion and the productive system. Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurs are thus involved in mechanisms that translate knowledge into innovation, which in turn leads to economic development and growth within an industry and/or region. To date, KIE is often associated with high-tech industries such as aerospace, computer engineering, automotive or telecommunications. For this reason, few studies have been conducted that specifically examine KIE as an avenue for firm or sector growth in the textile and apparel industries. However, new studies have positioned these industries as ones in which KIE can foster growth through innovation, and where products and processes are often evaluated within a knowledge-based framework. Building on this growing literature base, this volume explores potential policies and strategies for driving innovation and growth at the firm and industry levels in Europe and other regions, including the United States.

Gender and Entrepreneurship: An Annotated Bibliography contributes to scholarly thought about the nexus between gender and entrepreneurship by systematically searching an identifying the relevant literature on this topic. The authors begin with the oldest and most complete literature reviews in the literature and then consider those scholarly efforts in those reviews based on the criterion that each have 25 or more citations to date in Google Scholar. In addition, the authors examined all publications that referenced these earlier scholarly efforts and also identified the journals listed in these early reviews. To supplement this search process, two additional checks were imposed in an effort for completeness - a search of both the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) websites for reports on the topic of gender and entrepreneurship and any references previously not identified were included in the bibliography, which summarizes 563 scholarly contributions. While there have been a number of excellent literature reviews in recent years published in various academic outlets, Gender and Entrepreneurship: An Annotated Bibliography is more complete than other efforts and places each contribution to the literature into one of 16 descriptive categories. This categorical taxonomy of the literature is subjective and is formulated based on key phrases published in either the abstract of a journal article, the article's statement of its purpose, or the article's summary.

Using a cutting-edge structure, where a current description of the service sector and up-to-date case studies are compared and contrasted with innovative activity in manufacturing, this book contributes towards a better theoretical understanding of innovation in the U. S. service sector. The U. S. service sector is the largest sector in the U. S. economy and accounts for an increasingly significant share of U. S. gross domestic product, currently 68 percent. Both in the United States, as well as in other industrialized nations, the service sector is a dynamic component of economic activity and growth. As pervasive and economically important as the service sector is, innovative activity in service-sector firms remains somewhat of an enigma; it is not well understood and not well defined because it differs dramatically from the traditional model of innovation in manufacturing. Innovation in the U. S. Service Sector fills this void, placing emphasis on the United States, but with global relevance. It is essential reading for all students of business and management, economics and political science.

This useful new book reviews the literature on technology and economic growth covering historical and theoretical developments such as: *new models for measuring productivity *sources of technical knowledge and technological spillovers *stock market reactions to investment in technology Such a comprehensive survey is likely to be welcomed by students and academics involved in business economics, strategy and technology, as well as being extremely useful for public sector employees concerned with science and technology policy and planning, and private sector employees in research and development.

Capturing Knowledge explores the Extent to which knowledge transferred from a university to a firm or group of firms through a research partnership results in short-term private gains to a firm as well as to long-term public gains to society. It is descriptive in nature with the goal to appeal not only to academic researchers but also to reach students and learned individuals. Following a brief review of the extant academic literature Section 2, Section 3 summarizes the Small Business Innovation Act of 1982, which created the U. S. Small Business Innovation (SBIR) program. Descriptive information about universities as research partners in SBIR projects is presented in Section 4. The descriptive empirical analyses presented in Section 5 focus on the impact of university research partnerships on the performance of SBIR-funded projects and firms. They emphasize the private gains to the firm from its research involvement with a university and explore the presence of public gains. Concluding remarks are offered in Section 6.

Public sector entrepreneurship refers to innovative public policy initiatives that generate greater economic prosperity. These initiatives can transform a status quo economic environment into one that is more conducive to economic units engaging in creative and innovative activities in the face of uncertainty. Public Sector Entrepreneurship traces the historical development of the concepts of private and public sector entrepreneurship and their connection to the separate notions of risk and uncertainty. Based on a formal conceptualization of these notions, the book illustrates throughout public sector entrepreneurship in practice using examples from U. S. technology and innovation policy. Technology policy-policy to enhance the application of new knowledge, learned through science, to some known problem-and innovation policy-policy to enhance the commercialization of a technology-are quintessential examples of the public sector recognizing and exploiting opportunities to bring about change and efficiency. Using this concept of public sector entrepreneurship as the lens to view the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, the Stevenson-Wydler Act of 1980, the R&E Tax Credit of 1981, Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984, and the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 affords us the ability to find elements of commonality among these policies and to discuss their impact on the U. S. economy from the perspective of entrepreneurial action.

Public support for innovation, chiefly through government programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, has had a significant impact on fostering economic growth in the US. This collection synthesizes a decade of scholarship from Albert N. Link on the subject, specifically on small, technology-based entrepreneurial firms. Based on data collected by the National Research Council of the National Academies of the United States on projects funded through the SBIR program, these papers form a comprehensive foundation that will serve as a critical guide to the topic for both academics and policymakers. Divided into four main subjects - commercialization of new technology, employment growth, spillover benefits and policy - the essays tackle a number of critical issues in the field and offer insightful suggestions for future research and policy approaches. Students and scholars of business and management, public policy, economics, entrepreneurship and innovation studies will find this a useful and comprehensive resource, as will policymakers, entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Inadequate investment in innovation is particularly costly in today's globally competitive environment where continued technological advancements are critical to sustaining economic prosperity. The government has a critical role in ensuring that society's general interest in innovation, and the public good associated with innovation, is represented in private-sector decision making. This can be accomplished through a variety of programs and initiatives that reward innovation at all levels. The various activities that make this possible fall into two general categories: (1) the creation and maintenance of a legal environment that encourages private sector investment in innovation (patents and the relaxation of antitrust); and (2) the provision of incentives to overcome the natural inclination of private parties to consider only their private benefits when choosing the level of innovation in which to invest (governmental grants and contracts to targeted tax incentives). The role of government, more specifically, can be found in three key areas: (1) funding of research and development performed in the private sector; (2) funding of Federal laboratory research activities and the effective transfer of that knowledge to the private sector; and (3) encouraging the industry-university collaboration in research and development. It is these three areas of research that generate technologies fundamental to increasing the rate of technological development in the private sector, and it is these areas that are the focus of this book.

Models and Methods of University Technology Transfer covers the rise of university technology transfer since the 1980's, as well as the economic and academic benefits that stem from the commercialization of university-discovered technologies. Currently, most literature on university technology transfer focuses on institutions that facilitate commercialization, and models that oversimplify the technology transfer process by assuming that the knowledge flow is linear. The book reviews existing literature regarding university technology transfer in terms of the process within the traditional linear model. After an address of the limitations of the traditional model, alternatives conceptualizations of technology transfer are presented in order to more accurately illustrate university technology transfer in practice.

Public Accountability: Evaluating Technology-Based Institutions presents guidelines for evaluating the research performance of technology-based public institutions, and illustrates these guidelines through case studies conducted at one technology-based public institution, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The aim of this book is to demonstrate that a clear, more precise response to the question of performance accountability is possible through the systematic application of evaluation methods to document value. The authors begin with a review of the legislative history of fiscal accountability beginning with the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, and ending with the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. A discussion of existing applicable economic models, methods, and associated metrics follows. The book concludes with evaluation case studies.

Science and technology have long been regarded as important determinants of economic growth. Edwin Mansfield (1971, pp. 1- 2), a pioneer in the economics of technological change, noted: Technological change is an important, if not the most important, factor responsible for economic growth . . . without question, [it] is one of the most important determinants of the shape and evolution of the American economy. Science and technology are even more important in the "new economy," with its greater emphasis on the role of intellectual property and knowledge transfer. Therefore, it is unfortunate that most individuals rarely have the opportunity to explore the economic implications of science and technology. As a result, the antecedents and consequences of technological change are poorly understood by many in the general public. This lack of understanding is reflected in a recent survey conducted by the National Science Board (2000), summarized in Science & Engineering Indicators. ' As shown in Table 1. 1, the findings of the survey indicated that many Americans, despite a high level of interests in such matters, are not as well-informed about technological issues as they are about other policy issues. As shown in the table, individuals self assess, based on a scale from 1 to 100, their interest in science and technology policy issues as being relatively high, yet they self assess their knowledge or informedness about these issues relatively lower.