University Technology Transfer: On the Link to Licensing Revenues and Firm Creation

Abstract

This study examines factors that affect the commercialization of university-based innovations. It was hypothesized that successful university-based technology transfer - royalty revenues and new venture creation - is related to licensing strategies, the configuration of the technology transfer office, and the application of monetary incentives. To avoid common method bias, data were collected from four different sources, including from AUTM Licensing Surveys (1999, 2000), interviews with 127 technology transfer directors, and for convergent validity, from web-based searches of each research institution and the US Patent and Trademark Office. Findings revealed that licensing strategies and technology transfer office configuration are significantly related to successful technology transfers. In addition, the practice of sharing licensing revenues with a scientist’s academic department and technology office directors’ pay levels were positively related to technology transfers. However, sharing licensing revenues with scientists, counter to predictions, generated a negative relationship with technology transfers. We conclude with a discussion that deepens our understanding of the determinants of technology commercialization, and provide a richer, theoretically grounded, characterization of the process by which universities transfer technology to industry.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

JEL Classification: M13