Fuel on the Invention Funnel: Technology Licensing-in, Antecedents and Invention

In this paper, we examine the impact of technology licensing-in on firm invention performance. Studying a sample of 266 licensees and matched non-licensees using a two-part model specification, we find that licensees are more likely to introduce inventions than their non-licensee counterparts. This holds both if we consider invention in general, and invention in the licensed technological class only. We also show that familiarity with the licensed technology and technological specialization drives licensees to pursue a narrow invention strategy primarily focusing on the technological class specified in the license agreement.Licensing-in, Invention, Dynamic Capabilities, Learning Opportunities, Technological familiarity, Technological specialization

Start-Ups and Licensing Agreements: An Exploratory Case Study

Licensing agreements can exist between established companies but they increasingly also give rise to start-up companies, built around the licensed technology. Licensing-out technology can represent a risk as well as an opportunity for any licensor as there is a trade-off between additional revenues that can be gained from the licensing agreement and the costs related to the transfer itself, as well as the risks of opportunism by the licensee. When licensing to a start-up, this risk is higher, as start-ups have scarce resources, high failure rates and no past performance on which to gauge the start-up’s success. For the start-up the license could also represent a risk in the form of sunk costs and constraints on their evolution path. This paper discusses under which conditions technology licensing between a licensor and a start-up can be beneficial to both parties. Through a qualitative analysis, interviewing a number of European start-ups, we will examine in particular the role of contractual clauses, the relationship between licensor and licensee, the role of the licensed technology in the final product and the role of a technology push versus demand-pull scenario in a licensing deal. For all these aspects we will reflect on their influence on the licensor and licensee

When vicarious learning rewards the originating firm: Exploring the learning opportunities available to the licensor

Why should companies engage in licensing-out? While conventional wisdom mostly focuses on the financial and commercial benefits available to the licensor, this paper points to the learning opportunities entailed in licensing agreements. We develop an exploratory study built around a longitudinal cross-industry database of 558 licensing deals and we apply the vicarious learning framework to analyze the learning opportunities exploited by the licensor, as a result of engaging with a particular licensee in the first place. We investigate the licensor-licensee dyads on several dimensions, capturing their profiles and the different learning opportunities exploited; we also compare dyads that invert their role in a subsequent round to dyads that do not to understand whether there are difference in terms of learning patterns. Findings offer several insights consistent with a learning scenario, thus prompting further empirical research

Fuel on the Invention Funnel: Technology Licensing-in, Antecedents and Invention

Technology management has so far largely overlooked that licensing-in may represent learning opportunities for the recipient firm. Attention has primarily been directed towards a more tactic explanation for the decision of firms to in-license external technologies. However, increasing empirical evidence witnesses an inducing effect of licensing-in on the inventive behavior of the single firm which, in turn, feeds its development and growth. The aim of this paper is to explore whether licensing-in in fact acts as a catalyst for inventive activities pursued by licensee firms. We employ a two-part model to investigate the inventiveness of 133 licensees compared to an equally sized matched sample of non-licensees. The study reveals that licensees exhibit elevated invention performances compared to non-licensee counterparts. This holds both when considering invention in general and invention in licensed technological class.. In addition, the paper reveals that familiarity with the licensed technology and technological specialization instigates the licensee to pursue a narrow invention strategy as defined by the technological classes of the licensed patent.Technology management has so far largely overlooked that licensing-in may represent learning opportunities for the recipient firm. Attention has primarily been directed towards a more tactic explanation for the decision of firms to in-license external technologies. However, increasing empirical evidence witnesses an inducing effect of licensing-in on the inventive behavior of the single firm which, in turn, feeds its development and growth. The aim of this paper is to explore whether licensing-in in fact acts as a catalyst for inventive activities pursued by licensee firms. We employ a two-part model to investigate the inventiveness of 133 licensees compared to an equally sized matched sample of non-licensees. The study reveals that licensees exhibit elevated invention performances compared to non-licensee counterparts. This holds both when considering invention in general and invention in licensed technological class.. In addition, the paper reveals that familiarity with the licensed technology and technological specialization instigates the licensee to pursue a narrow invention strategy as defined by the technological classes of the licensed patent.Non-Refereed Working Papers / of national relevance onl

From a distinctive sign to an exchangeable asset: exploring the U.S. market for trademark licensing

A remarkable growth in the value of trademark licensing has been recently recorded. Our paper contributes to the understanding of this under-explored phenomenon using a dataset newly released by the USPTO. Our study analyses the evolution of licensing activities in the U.S. during the 2003-2017 period, the characteristics of these trademarks and agreements, and certain features of the licensing parties involved. We found that licensing activities varied considerably during these years. They were usually signed between two parties only, and, on average, they involved more than one trademark. Excluding under-reporting effect, the analyses reveal that a large portion of heterogeneity in licensing activity is due to the NICE international classes associated with each trademark. Indeed, trademark licensing agreements appear to be unevenly distributed across these classes, suggesting that this activity and the way it is carried out is correlated with the market to which the licensed trademark refers

Open Social Innovation local ecosystems: The case of Dolomiti Innovation Valley

The teaching case entitled 'Open social innovation local ecosystems: Dolomiti Innovation Valley' describes how to put in practice open social innovation (OSI) management models, showing how apparently fuzzy aspects (such as openness and social change) become operational through multi-stakeholder governance and place-based approaches to sustain impactful local innovation ecosystems

Antibioticoterapia e sua Automedicação: Prática Comum entre Estudantes do Curso de Biomedicina de Instituto de Ensino Superior

Self-medication habit of antibiotics contributes to the bacterial resistance mechanism, which is a global public health problem that must be prevented. The university student, as a future health professional, is summoned to guide a conduct and report on the use of antimicrobials regarding the casual agent, the site of infection and the severity of the disease. In this study, it has been verified, through a questionnaire, the profile of freshmen and academic students who are majoring in Biomedical Science in an institution of higher education, comparing the results obtained. It is a descriptive study with quantitative data approach (relative frequency – %) through a self-administered questionnaire, and containing 13 multiple choice questions stored in the database in Excel. The sample consisted of 132 undergraduate students from the Biomedical Science course from this University Center. Among the freshmen, the purchase of antibiotic is mainly influenced by previous experiences with the drug, what is not repeated by the students that are graduating and prefer to seek and follow medical advice. Thus, 91.8% of trainees believe that self-medication may be harmful to health. Regarding the use of anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic before the use of antibiotics, 67% of the entering students said that they take these medications, against 70% of the senior students that also do it. Therefore, we may conclude that information on the danger of self-medication is provided in the disciplines of microbiology and pharmacology, which have not been studied by the freshmen and is unknown by the general population, that appeals to self-medication due to the lack of knowledge. To reverse this situation, it is necessary a greater media exposure on educational practices regarding the risks, the benefits, and elucidation about multi-resistant bacteria.O hábito da automedicação de antibióticos contribui para o mecanismo de resistência bacteriana, sendo um problema de saúde pública mundial que deve ser prevenido. O universitário, como futuro profissional da saúde, é cobrado no sentido de orientar uma conduta e informar quanto ao uso de antimicrobianos no que se refere ao agente causal, ao sítio de infecção e à gravidade da doença. Neste estudo, verificou-se, através de um questionário, o perfil dos acadêmicos ingressantes e concluintes do curso de biomedicina de uma instituição de nível superior, comparando-se os resultados obtidos. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo com abordagem quantitativa dos dados (frequência relativa – %) através de questionário autoaplicável, e contendo 13 questões de múltipla escolha armazenadas no banco de dados no programa Excel. A amostra foi composta por 132 alunos de graduação do curso de Biomedicina desse centro universitário. Dentre os acadêmicos ingressantes, a compra do antibiótico é influenciada principalmente pela experiência própria com o fármaco, o que não se repete com concluintes, que preferem procurar e seguir orientação médica. Assim, 91,8% dos concluintes acreditam que a automedicação pode trazer danos à saúde. Em relação ao consumo de anti-inflamatórios, analgésicos e antitérmicos antes do uso do antibiótico, 67% dos iniciantes disseram que fazem a utilização destes medicamentos, contra 70% dos concluintes que também a fazem. Portanto, conclui-se que informações sobre os perigos da automedicação são fornecidos nas disciplinas de microbiologia e farmacologia, disciplinas estas ainda não cursadas pelos ingressantes e desconhecidas pela população em geral, que recorre à automedicação devido à falta de conhecimento. Para reverter este quadro, é necessária uma maior exposição na mídia sobre práticas educativas, riscos, benefícios, e explicações sobre bactérias multirresistentes

P03-36 Bradykinesia and mental slowness in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background:Clinical and experimental findings suggest that Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is due to an abnormality of the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit. Bradykinesia and mental slowness can be present in patients with basal ganglia disorders affecting the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit. Aim of this study is to investigate whether bradykinesia and mental slowness are present in patients with OCD.Methods:Participants comprised 19 non-depressed anti-psychotic free patients with OCD.Bradykinesia was assessed with the motor section of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Mental slowness was investigated with the WAIS-R and the Y-BOCS. Psychiatric evaluation was performed with: SCID-I, Y-BOCS, HAMD, HAM-A, and MMPI. Cognitive functions were assessed with the WAIS-R.Results:Bradykinesia and mental slowness were present respectively in the 39% and 89% of the patients. Bradykinesia was positively correlated to Y-BOCS mental slowness score (rho=0.48, p< 0.05), and inversely related to the WAIS-R Performance IQ score (rho=-0.65, p< 0.01). Patients with bradykinesia scored significantly lower in the Similarities and Digit symbol coding WAIS-R subscales as compared to non-bradykinetic patients. in our sample pathological doubt was not associated with IQ measures nor with bradykinesia. Twelve out of 19 patients (63%) showed impairments in the nonverbal function scores.Conclusions:The novel findings of this study is that bradykinesia can be present in patients with OCD, and it is correlated with mental slowness and nonverbal performance impairment. These preliminary data support the notion that dysfunction of basal ganglia is possibly present in OCD patients