Firm and industry characteristics influencing publications of scientists in large American companies

This study examines the relationship between the volume of scientific and technical publications (papers) produced by industrial scientists, and the characteristics of the corporations in which they work. Specifically, the study examines 1. the relationship between several key financial characteristics of U. S. industrial firms and the production of scientific papers; 2. the relationship between the amount of scientific papers published by industrial scientists and the publication of patents; 3. the relationship between the quality of the scientists employed by U. S. industrial firms and the firms' output of papers and patents. Data from 225 U. S. corporations were collected for the years 1975 through 1983. The corporations chosen for the study all have a history of consistent R and D expenditure. There is a substantial correlation between patenting and the publication of scientific papers although controlling for the size of the corporation reduces the correlation. Large firms, as measured by their annual sales, produce proportionately fewer scientific papers than do small firms. The number of elite scientists in a corporation is more highly correlated with the publication of scientific papers than with patenting.