Title: The commercialisation of national laboratory technology through the formation of ''spin-off'' firms: evidence from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Authors: David C. Mowery, Arvids A. Ziedonis

Addresses: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

Abstract: This paper examines the role of Lawrence Livermore National (LLNL), a major US Department of Energy nuclear weapons research facility, in spawning ||spin-off|| firms. We provide some of the most comprehensive estimates of the number of spin-off firms associated with LLNL and find that this research facility appears to be at least as important a source of spin-off firms as are three defence-oriented laboratories in New Mexico with a combined budget that is substantially larger than that of LLNL. Our survey of these LLNL ||spin-off|| firms suggests that fewer than one-quarter of them are directly engaged in the commercialisation of LLNL-developed technologies, a finding that is broadly consistent with the results of other studies. Finally, our interviews with spin-off founders suggest that management and other policy-related impediments to the formation of ||spin-off|| firms reduce the contribution of these firms to the commercialisation of LLNL-developed technologies.

Keywords: technology transfer; national laboratories; spin-off firms.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2001.001398

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2001 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.106-119

Published online: 02 Jul 2003 *

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