Showing papers by "Anders Broström published in 2016"

Academic Entrepreneurship: Bayh-Dole versus the 'Professor's Privilege'

Abstract: Should society encourage scientists at universities to become entrepreneurs? Using data on U.S. university-employed scientists with a Ph.D. in STEM disciplines leaving their university to become entrepreneurs during 1993-2006 and similar data from Sweden we show evidence suggesting that owning your idea outright (the “Professor’s Privilege”) rather than sharing ownership with your university employer (the Bayh-Dole regime) is strongly positively associated with the rate of academic entrepreneurship but not with apparent economic gain for the entrepreneur. Further analysis show that in both countries there is too much entry into entrepreneurship, and selection from the bottom of the ability distribution among scientists. Targeted policies aimed at screening entrepreneurial decisions by younger, tenure-track academics may therefore produce more benefits for society than general incentives.

Workforce Composition and Innovation

Abstract: In this paper, we study how workforce composition is related to firm’s radical innovation. Previous studies have argued that teams composed by individuals with diverse background are able to perfor...

New firm formation in the wake of mergers and acquisitions: Are employees pushed or pulled into entrepreneurship?

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and employee entrepreneurship in human capital-intensive service sectors. We investigate two sets of theoretical mechanisms. First, M&As may push employees entrepreneurship by lowering the average barriers of leaving the current employment (i.e. being associated with general deterioration of working conditions). Second, M&A activities may generate new entrepreneurial opportunities, which are first and foremost accessible by employees directly affected by M&As. Results on employee entrepreneurship in 3 039 Swedish firms during the time period 2000-2009 confirm that the number of firms spawned from a specific incumbent increases following an M&A. Push-oriented factors are found to contribute to this effect, but a dominating part of the total effect remains unexplained. This suggests that pull-oriented explanations of opportunity creation in the wake of M&As constitute an important avenue for further research on employee entrepreneurship.

Academic Entrepreneurship: Bayh-Dole versus the 'Professor's Privilege'

Abstract: Should society encourage scientists at universities to become entrepreneurs? Using data on U.S. university-employed scientists with a Ph.D. in STEM disciplines leaving their university to become entrepreneurs during 1993-2006 and similar data from Sweden we show evidence suggesting that owning your idea outright (the “Professor’s Privilege”) rather than sharing ownership with your university employer (the Bayh-Dole regime) is strongly positively associated with the rate of academic entrepreneurship but not with apparent economic gain for the entrepreneur. Further analysis show that in both countries there is too much entry into entrepreneurship, and selection from the bottom of the ability distribution among scientists. Targeted policies aimed at screening entrepreneurial decisions by younger, tenure-track academics may therefore produce more benefits for society than general incentives.

Knowledge transfer at the science-policy interface: How cognitive distance and the degree of expert autonomy shapes the outcome

Abstract: This paper analyzes the conditions for successful knowledge transfer between the spheres of science and public policy. It does so by focusing upon the science-policy interface, specifically the processes of direct interaction between scientists and scientifically trained experts on the one hand and agents of policy-making organizations on the other. The paper defines two dimensions – cognitive distance and expert autonomy – which are argued to influence knowledge exchange, in such a way as to shape the outcome. A case study on the implementation of congestion charges in Stockholm, Sweden illustrates how the proposed framework pinpoints three central issues for understanding these processes: 1) differentiating the roles of e.g. a science-based consultancy firm and an academic environment in policy formation; 2) examining the fit between the organizational form of the science-policy interface and the intended goals; and 3) increasing our understanding of when policy makers themselves need to develop scientific competence in order to interact effectively with scientific experts.