Combining the production and the valorization of academic research: A qualitative investigation of enacted mechanisms.

The emergence of knowledge-based societies over the past decades has spurred research on the specific role of universities in innovation systems. The notion of academic entrepreneurship has gained acceptance among communities of researchers, practitioners and policy makers (Etzkowitz et al., 1998). At the same time, this acceptance seems impregnated by a constant alertness for the tensions that may arise. Concerns are uttered about shifts of the academic research agenda towards industry needs, resulting in fewer investments in basic research. Furthermore, the conflicting nature of the normative principles that guide academia and business has been warned for: competitive considerations and secrecy practices would stand in direct opposition to the principle of free dissemination of scientific knowledge (Dasgupta and David, 1987; Florida and Cohen, 1999; Geuna, 1999; Noble, 1977).Agency; Applicant; Assignee; Assignment; Business; Companies; Country; Data; EPO; Indicators; Information; Innovation; Institutional; Inventors; Methods; Order; Patent; Patent statistics; Patentee; Performance; Policy; Regions; Research; Researchers; Sector; Sector assignment; Technology; Time; University; USPTO; Innovation systems; Systems; Academic entrepreneurship; Community; Research agenda; Industry; Industries; Investments; Investment; Basic research; Principles; Dissemination; Knowledge;

The Changing Economics of Technological Learning

This paper deals with the emergence of new technologies of learning. In general, new tools and technologies of learning (simulation methods, electronic networks, etc.) ease some of the problems in the economics of learning. They help to reduce costs of information processing and to preserve technological diversity, as it is economically feasible to maintain alternative technology designs much longer. These effects in turn have a positive influence on the adaptive capacity of the techno-economic system. First, it enables to explore an entire spectrum of technological variety and thus to broaden the portfolio of technological alternatives. Second, it enables to produce both effective outputs and knowledge in the process of using a technology. This means that knowledge and information about environmental impacts of a technology can be continuously generated very early on

Can medical products be developed on a non-profit basis? Exploring product development partnerships for neglected diseases

Reliance on market forces can lead to underinvestment in social welfare enhancing innovation. The lack of new medical products in the area of neglected diseases is a case in point. R&D for neglected diseases has increased with new funding and collaborations taking place mainly through product development partnerships (PDPs). PDPs are self-governing, private non-profit R&D organizations. In contrast to push and pull instruments designed to address private-sector R&D underinvestment, PDPs have emerged voluntarily to address this public health challenge. In this study we examine how non-profit R&D collaboration for neglected diseases takes place through PDPs. We find that PDPs act as ‘system integrators' that leverage the resources and capabilities of a network of public, philanthropic and private-sector partners. This paper contributes to an understanding of R&D in a non-profit context and highlights the importance of collaboration and non-market institutions for promoting innovation where market failures occu

Constitutive association of BRCA1 and c-Abl and its ATM-dependent disruption after irradiation

BRCA1 plays an important role in mechanisms of response to double-strand breaks, participating in genome surveillance, DNA repair, and cell cycle checkpoint arrests. Here, we identify a constitutive BRCA1-c-Abl complex and provide evidence for a direct interaction between the PXXP motif in the C terminus of BRCA1 and the SH3 domain of c-Abl. Following exposure to ionizing radiation (IR), the BRCA1-c-Abl complex is disrupted in an ATM-dependent manner, which correlates temporally with ATM-dependent phosphorylation of BRCA1 and ATM-dependent enhancement of the tyrosine kinase activity of c-Abl. The BRCA1-c-Abl interaction is affected by radiation-induced modification to both BRCA1 and c-Abl. We show that the C terminus of BRCA1 is phosphorylated by c-Abl in vitro. In vivo, BRCA1 is phosphorylated at tyrosine residues in an ATM-dependent, radiation-dependent manner. Tyrosine phosphorylation of BRCA1, however, is not required for the disruption of the BRCA1-c-Abl complex. BRCA1-mutated cells exhibit constitutively high c-Abl kinase activity that is not further increased on exposure to IR. We suggest a model in which BRCA1 acts in concert with ATM to regulate c-Abl tyrosine kinase activity

Innovation as a Nonlinear Process, the Scientometric Perspective, and the Specification of an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer"

The process of innovation follows non-linear patterns across the domains of science, technology, and the economy. Novel bibliometric mapping techniques can be used to investigate and represent distinctive, but complementary perspectives on the innovation process (e.g., "demand" and "supply") as well as the interactions among these perspectives. The perspectives can be represented as "continents" of data related to varying extents over time. For example, the different branches of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in the Medline database provide sources of such perspectives (e.g., "Diseases" versus "Drugs and Chemicals"). The multiple-perspective approach enables us to reconstruct facets of the dynamics of innovation, in terms of selection mechanisms shaping localizable trajectories and/or resulting in more globalized regimes. By expanding the data with patents and scholarly publications, we demonstrate the use of this multi-perspective approach in the case of RNA Interference (RNAi). The possibility to develop an "Innovation Opportunities Explorer" is specified.Comment: Technology Analysis and Strategic Management (forthcoming in 2013

The early experience of smart specialization implementation in EU cohesion policy

This paper discusses the early-stage experience of the smart specialization agenda within EU Cohesion Policy. The analysis examines the types of policy prioritization choices made by different member states and regions and seeks evidence on the extent to which weaker regions, in particular, might be constrained in their choices. The paper then reviews the evidence arising out of various surveys of policy-makers’ own experience and perceptions of the agenda, and concludes with a discussion of the major features of the policy progress so far and the main challenges ahead

Social Interactions vs Revisions, What is important for Promotion in Wikipedia?

In epistemic community, people are said to be selected on their knowledge contribution to the project (articles, codes, etc.) However, the socialization process is an important factor for inclusion, sustainability as a contributor, and promotion. Finally, what does matter to be promoted? being a good contributor? being a good animator? knowing the boss? We explore this question looking at the process of election for administrator in the English Wikipedia community. We modeled the candidates according to their revisions and/or social attributes. These attributes are used to construct a predictive model of promotion success, based on the candidates's past behavior, computed thanks to a random forest algorithm. Our model combining knowledge contribution variables and social networking variables successfully explain 78% of the results which is better than the former models. It also helps to refine the criterion for election. If the number of knowledge contributions is the most important element, social interactions come close second to explain the election. But being connected with the future peers (the admins) can make the difference between success and failure, making this epistemic community a very social community too

The Secret to Successful User Communities: An Analysis of Computer Associates’ User Groups

This paper provides the first large scale study that examines the impact of both individual- and group-specific factors on the benefits users obtain from their user communities. By empirically analysing 924 survey responses from individuals in 161 Computer Associates' user groups, this paper aims to identify the determinants of successful user communities. To measure success, the amount of time individual members save through having access to their user networks is used. As firms can significantly profit from successful user communities, this study proposes four key implications of the empirical results for the management of user communities

The explicit economics of knowledge codification and tacitness

This paper attempts a greater precision and clarity of understanding concerning the nature and economic significance of knowledge and its variegated forms by presenting "the skeptical economist's guide to 'tacit knowledge."' It critically reconsiders the ways in which the concepts of tacitness and codification have come to be employed by economists and develops a more coherent re-conceptualization of these aspects of knowledge production and distribution activities. It seeks also to show that a proposed alternative framework for the study of knowledge codification activities offers a more useful guide for further research directed to informing public policies for science, technological innovation and long-run economic growth