This is what you came for? University–industry collaborations and follow-on inventions by the firm

The positive impact of university–industry collaborations on firms' innovative performance is well recognized. However, to date, the existing heterogeneity within university–industry collaboration processes and the sources of value creation underlying the resulting inventions are left underexplored. As a result, our understanding as to why some of the joint inventions resulting from such collaborations turn out to present a more fertile source of follow-on developments and value for the collaborating firm than others is limited. The present paper sheds light on this question through the application of a knowledge recombination perspective. Hence, we open the black box of innovation and put a spotlight on the knowledge components that make up the joint inventions resulting from university–industry collaborations. We evaluate how the nature—scientific versus technological—and origins—internal versus external to the collaborating partners—of these knowledge components relate to the inventive impact of the partners' joint invention. Examining a sample of 9102 USPTO co-patents, joint inventions created through university–industry collaborations are shown to be most fertile as a source of firm follow-on inventions when they are the result of a recombination process that includes technological knowledge components stemming from both collaborating partners. This effect is most pronounced when the partners' technological knowledge contributions are moderately similar. In contrast, when the joint technology development takes place in a technology domain that is novel to the firm, the resulting joint inventions are most fertile as a source of firm follow-on inventions when the university contributes through the input of technological knowledge components situated in exactly this technology domain that is novel to the firm. Remarkably, no evidence for such direct effects is found regarding the partners' scientific contributions. Together, these findings provide important insights for firms who intend to spur their internal technology development through collaboration with a university partner.     

The influence of the structure of social networks on academic spin-offs’ entrepreneurial orientation

This paper has been designed to analyse the impact of the structure of social networks on academic spin-offs’ entrepreneurial orientation. We have specifically focus on both size and frequency of three different types of social networks: informal networks (composed of family and friends); market networks (composed of agents belonging to the business context); and university support networks (composed of university institutions and agents). With the premises of Resource Dependence Theory as theoretical background and drawing on a sample of 167 Spanish academic spinoffs, results of regression analysis have highlighted the positive influence of market networks and university support networks on the enhancement of academic spin-offs’ entrepreneurial orientation, as well as the null impact exerted by informal networks. Our paper expands the research developed in the fields of academic entrepreneurship, social networks and Resource Dependence Theory and offers some suggestions to academic spin-offs’ managers and university support institutions.     

Engaging the inventor: exploring licensing strategies for university inventions and the role of latent knowledge

A significant portion of knowledge generated by university inventors remains latent (uncodified but codifiable), even though this information is valuable to firms that have licensed their inventions and famously strong incentives exist to disseminate academic findings widely. However, the licensee may access and exploit this latent knowledge by engaging the inventor during the development phase. This paper examines the hypothesis that licensing strategies that directly engage the inventor increase the likelihood and degree of commercialization success. While this may seem somewhat apparent, firms in the sample under investigation vary substantially in the degree to which they engage the inventor: one third of the sample does not engage the inventor at all. On the other hand, the hypothesis might seem surprising given the norms of open science under which university labs are expected to operate. Regression analyses based on a unique dataset of 124 license agreements associated with inventions from MIT support the hypothesis and generate results that are robust to a variety of controls. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Types of synergy and economic value: The impact of acquisitions on merging and rival firms

Acquisitions, in general, have been demonstrated to create economic value. The intuitive reason underlying this value creation stems either from an ability to reduce costs of the combined entity, an ability to charge higher prices, or both. Current research in the area attributes these abilities to an opportunity to utilize a specialized resource. Our focus in this study is to compare three broad classes of resources that contribute to the creation of value. Following the conventional wisdom, these resources are classified as cost of capital related (resulting in financial synergy), cost of production related (resulting in operational synergy), and price related (resulting in collusive synergy). Given the limitations of our sample and research design, we find that collusive synergy is, on average, associated with the highest value. Further, the resources behind financial synergy tend to create more value than the resources behind operational synergy.     

An empirical examination of the relationship between scientists' work environment and research performance

This research is an empirical examination of the relationship between organizational characteristics and scientific research effectiveness. A sample of research-active scientists ( N =295) from 25 biological and chemical science university research departments took part in this study. Data were collected using the Organizational Culture Survey ( Glaser et al., 1987 ), which measures six organizational characteristics of the research environment. Organizational characteristics are analysed across a measure of departmental research performance. Results support the hypothesis that specific characteristics of the organizational environment are related to research performance. The implications of these findings for the existing literature and the future management and organization of scientific research departments are discussed.     

The Formation of Fairness Perceptions in the Cooperation between Entrepreneurs and Universities

For entrepreneurs who intend to exploit university‐owned technologies, a cooperative relationship with the university is critical. This study aims to better understand this entrepreneur–university cooperation. A key factor influencing the quality of this cooperation is the fairness perception of the entrepreneur. However, little is known about how these fairness perceptions are formed in this context. Therefore, to increase insight in entrepreneur–university cooperation, this study explores the formation of fairness perceptions by entrepreneurs who cooperate with universities (in so‐called university spin‐offs). This study assesses how the rules these entrepreneurs employ to form fairness perceptions differ from fairness rules that have been established in previous studies on organizational justice. The results show that, in addition to established fairness rules, there are also fairness rules that are more specific to this entrepreneurial setting. These specific rules complement the established fairness rules to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the formation of fairness perceptions by entrepreneurs cooperating with a university. Moreover, this study explores to what extent different entrepreneurs form fairness perceptions differently and finds that both experience and relational capital of the entrepreneurs within the university are two key sources of heterogeneity. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by conceptualizing how entrepreneurs form fairness perceptions in cooperating with universities and how this extends established wisdom in organizational justice theory. Moreover, the rules identified in this study provide clues for entrepreneurs who wish to improve their collaboration with universities, and may also apply to the relationships between entrepreneurs and large corporations and between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.     

What nutrition label to use in a catering environment? A discrete choice experiment

Worksite and university canteens are increasingly used for daily main meal consumption. Following the use of front-of-pack nutrition labels on pre-packed foods, the provision of easily accessible nutrition information on foods prepared and consumed out of home is a highly topical policy issue with the potential to help consumers making better informed and more healthy food choices when eating out. Information that is presented in a format preferred by the target group is more likely to be used. A sample of 1725 university canteen users participated in a web-based choice experiment designed to identify and understand individual preferences for alternative nutrition labels on canteen meals. Participants valued the presence of nutrition labels on canteen meals and showed a preference for more detailed formats. Ability and motivation to process information as well as socio-demographics explained differences in label preferences. Observed decreasing marginal utility from combinations of two simple label formats as well as from combinations of two detailed formats, signalled information insufficiency versus information overload, respectively. In order to satisfy most canteen users’ information needs, a nutrition label that contains basic Guideline Daily Amount (GDA)-type of numerical information in combination with familiar visual aids like stars and colour codes is proposed to be used in university canteens.     

Digital based media design: the innovative contribution of design graduates from vocational and higher education sectors

Design is increasingly being recognised as a key source of competitive advantage in the innovation economy of many countries. The key objective of this research was to understand the contribution by design graduates to creative industries innovative activities. Primary research was conducted to understand barriers and limitations of graduate contributions to such activities. The attributes and skills of graduates from the university and Vocational Education and Training sectors were the subject of the study. Two focus groups, one with the education sectors and the other with representatives from design firms, government institutions and design associations were held. Though each group of graduates was praised for having certain skill sets graduates from both sectors were found to be lacking in three key areas: problem solving, communication skills and commercial knowledge. A range of suggestions for systemic improvement were proposed as a result of the study.     

University – industry collaboration in R&D: the role of labor market rigidity

We investigate how R&D university – industry collaboration (R&D UIC) is influenced by labor market rigidity. While it is well-established that an educated and skilled workforce will facilitate R&D UIC, another aspect of these alliances has been under-researched: the role of labor market rigidity, in particular the difficulties employers face in hiring and firing workers. We hypothesize that the size of the R&D labor pool in a country will encourage R&D UIC, and that the ease with which employers are legally allowed to hire and fire will directly and indirectly influence R&D UIC. Integrating data from various sources, we test our model on a sample of 73 countries for which information on the size of the R&D labor pool and labor market regulations are available. We also conduct a robustness test using a different proxy for R&D labor pool on a larger sample of 109 countries. Results confirm the strong link between a country's R&D labor pool and R&D UIC, as well as direct negative impacts of hiring and firing rigidity and an indirect negative impact of hiring rigidity. The findings have implications for managers, policy makers, and researchers of R&D collaboration between universities and industry.     

For whom the bell alternatives toll: demographics of residential facilities-based telecommunications competition in the United States

This research uses web client automation to identify a large sample of residential facilities-based customers of competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs). The research examines demographics of the Census block groups where the identified customers live, and compares the profiles to the corresponding counties and states. As expected, the results suggest a community's proximity to business matters, and persons in Census block groups with residential facilities-based competition tend to have higher average income and educational achievement levels. Importantly, low-income households appear not to be left behind, which may speak to the efficacy of income-based support programs such as Lifeline and Link-Up.     

Race, Ethnicity, Union Attitudes, and Voting Predilections

The research reported here investigates, in a sample of approximately 500 persons, the relationship between individuals' race and/or ethnicity and their union-related attitudes and union vote propensity. As measured by scores on union instrumentality, big labor image, and union governance questions, blacks have the most favorable attitudes toward unions, Hispanics the least favorable. Logistic multiple regression results indicate no difference in union-joining propensity attributable to ethnicity, although several other variables are found to be significantly related to joining predilections.     

Effects of job perceptions on job behaviors: Implications for sales performance

We investigate the relationship between salesperson job perception and job behaviors and their effects on sales performance. Hypotheses are tested using a sample of automobile salespeople. Generally, results show that job involvement is positively related to working hard, but no significant relationship existed with working smart. Job challenge is positively related to both working hard and working smart. Finally, both working hard and working smart are positively related to performance. Discussion of hypothesis support is presented and implications for sales managers, limitations of the study and future research opportunities are then discussed.     

Buyer opportunism in business-to-business exchange

A phenomenon of significance in buyer–supplier relationships is opportunism. In lieu of the known negative effects of opportunistic behavior on buyer–supplier relationships, the circumstances in which a sourcing professional engages in acts of opportunism are unclear. Combining theories from multiple disciplines, a comprehensive model tested buyer–supplier relationship-specific factors, environmental factors, an individual-difference factor, and situational factors likely to affect a buyer's decision to use opportunistic tactics. Results reveal how these different theories combine to provide a more comprehensive explanation of buyer behavior than existed in prior literature. Using structural equation modeling of a sample of 328 procurement transactions, factors found to affect buyer opportunism included buyer power, corporate ethical values, honesty/integrity, leader opportunism, willful ignorance, and subjective expected utility. This study also provides empirical support for distinguishing between two types of opportunism — strong and weak. The research concludes with implications for theory and practice, limitations, and areas for future research.     

Faculty Choice of a Pension Plan: Defined Benefit versus Defined Contribution

Worker preferences between defined-benefit and defined-contribution pension plans are estimated using a sample of faculty members at North Carolina State University. Newly hired faculty must decide between the state retirement plan (a final pay, defined-benefit plan) and one of three defined-contribution plans (TIAA/CREF, VALIC, Lincoln National). This analysis allows the authors to estimate the choice of a pension plan holding constant the place of employment. The study uses both university employment records and a faculty survey to examine the factors that determine the choice of a pension.     

Labor Market Outcomes of Persons with Mental Disorders

We present nationally representative estimates of unexplained employment and wage differentials between nondisabled persons and persons with mental disorders, a disabled group subject to exceptionally strong stigma. Estimates are provided for persons with mental disorders overall, and for subgroups of mood, anxiety, adjustment, and psychotic disorders. The results reveal distinctly different patterns of outcomes across subgroups, consistent with a severity gradient such that persons with adjustment disorders experience the most favorable outcomes, while persons with psychotic disorders experience the least favorable.     

Characteristics and mobile Internet use intensity of consumers with different types of advanced handsets: An exploratory empirical study of iPhone,Android and other web-enabled mobile users in Germany

This work explores personal characteristics and mobile Internet (MI) use behaviors of consumers equipped with four distinct types of advanced handsets for accessing the Internet via cellular radio infrastructures of mobile network operators (MNO). Furthermore, it investigates the extent to which personal and mobile appliance characteristics explain variance in actual MI use intensity. Data on two demographic variables, three MNO relationship characteristics and actual MI use intensity (average monthly volume of mobile IP traffic generated by a subscriber in May and June 2011) of 9321 adult consumers with a flat MI pricing scheme are extracted from customer files of the German subsidiary of a large international MNO. 959, 2213, 2410 and 3739 of the sample members use an Apple iPhone 3, an Apple iPhone 4, a model running with Google’s Android operating system (OS) and other MI-enabled mobile OS/phone types, respectively. Compared to the adult population in Germany, persons at least 50 years of age are clearly underrepresented among MI adopters with the four studied device types. Differences between the four phone type groups with regard to gender, age, time from enrollment and MI use experience emerge as statistically significant, but they achieve only minor substantial relevance. MI use intensity is highly positively skewed: In each of the four appliance groups, a small number of users disproportionately add to the total MI traffic generated by the subjects. Consumers’ advanced OS/handset type strongly contributes towards explaining MI use intensity variance. iPhone subscribers generate more traffic than Android customers who in turn show a higher MI activity level than individuals running other web-enabled mobile models. Age is the only studied personal characteristic consistently showing a (negative) association with MI usage, which both is statistically and materially significant. Conclusions are drawn for MNO on MI marketing issues. Implications of study limitations for research on MI adoption and use behaviors on the MI are also outlined.     

Understanding the alliance data

A considerable body of research utilizes large alliance databases (e.g., SDC, MERIT‐CATI, CORE, RECAP, and BIOSCAN) to study interorganizational relationships. Understanding the strengths and limitations of these databases is crucial for informing database selection and research design. In this study I conduct an analysis of five prominent alliance databases. Focusing on technology alliances (those formed for the purposes of joint research or cross‐technology transfer), I examine the databases' consistency of coverage and completeness, and assess whether different databases yield the same patterns in sectoral composition, temporal trends, and geographic patterns in alliance activity. I also replicate three previously published alliance studies to assess the impact of data limitations on research outcomes. The results suggest that the databases only report a fraction of formally announced alliances, which could have detrimental consequences for some types of research. However, the databases exhibit strong symmetries in patterns of sectoral composition, alliance activity over time, and geographic participation. Furthermore, the replications of previous studies yielded results that were highly similar to those obtained in the original studies. This study thus provides some reassurance that even though the databases only capture a sample of alliance activity, they may yield reliable results for many—if not all—research purposes. This information should help researchers make better‐informed decisions about their choice of database and research design. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Census of population and housing, 1983. Households,marriage, couples,fertility: selected data

Results from the 1983 census of Israel are presented concerning households, marriage, married couples, and fertility. Data on households are based on the complete enumeration; the remaining data concern a 20 percent sample of households. Information is included on households by number of persons in household; sex, religion, and age of head of household; type of household; age at first marriage; age differences between husband and wife; and family size. Selected data are reported for Jews by continent of origin, and for non-Jews by religion.     

The relationship between marketing agility and financial performance under different levels of market turbulence

Marketing agility is an example of dynamic capability that has significant influence on ordinary capabilities leading to superior financial performance. This makes it of interest to marketing managers. Yet the way in which this capability aligns with turbulent market environments to simultaneously influence ordinary capabilities and performance has not been adequately examined and empirically tested. This study seeks to close this gap by positing that marketing agility has both direct and indirect (through innovation capability which is an ordinary capability) impacts on financial performance. However, these relationships are moderated by market turbulence to yield both mediated moderation and moderated mediation effects. The study was undertaken in the Chinese food-processing industry where a sample of 518 companies participated. This provides an opportunity to validate theory developed in the western economies and to generalize some previous findings. Contrary to received literature we found that the impact of innovation capability on financial performance is stronger under low market turbulence; and that market turbulence moderates the indirect relationship between marketing agility and financial performance. The indirect effect is stronger when market turbulence is low than when it is high. Implications for managers and academia are discussed and limitations of the study are pointed out.     

The use of stock market returns in antitrust analysis of mergers

One of the most promising recent innovations in merger analysis has been the attempt to predict the effects of horizontal mergers by examining the share prices of the rivals to the merging firms. In this paper we describe the standard procedure, discuss some of the major criticisms of that procedure, and propose a modification, apply it to a sample of recent mergers, contrast the results with those from the standard procedure, and discuss the appropriate uses and remaining limitations of the model for antitrust analysis.The views expressed in this paper reflect those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of their employer. We wish to thank the referees and Mary Streitwieser for helpful comments, and Becky Carr for excellent typing services.