Title: Patenting and the role of knowledge spillovers

Authors: Carter Bloch; Marianna Marino

Addresses: The Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy (CFA), Department of Political Science and Government, University of Aarhus, Bartholins Allé 7, 8000 Aarhus C., Denmark ' Chaire en Économie et Management de l'Innovation (CEMI), Collège du Management de la Technologie, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract: This paper examines the role of public and private R&D spillovers and other determinants on the propensity to patent (whether firms engage in patenting activity) and patenting output (the number of patent applications). Knowledge spillovers are constructed based on the research profiles of businesses and public research institutions, respectively. We find that both private and public spillovers have an impact on patenting behaviour, though in opposite directions. Spillovers from business R&D have a negative impact, potentially reflecting adverse effects of rival firms' R&D on expected returns of own patenting activity. In contrast, public spillovers are found to have a positive effect on patenting activity, possibly reflecting the value to firms' patenting activity of basic and applied research conducted by public research institutes.

Keywords: R&D; research and development; public spillovers; private spillovers; absorptive capacity; patents; patenting activity; knowledge spillovers; patenting output.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2014.066797

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2014 Vol.11 No.3/4, pp.219 - 236

Received: 22 Jun 2013
Accepted: 16 Apr 2014
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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