TY  - JOUR
AU  - Chukumba,Celestine
AU  - Jensen,Richard
TI  - University Invention, Entrepreneurship, and Start-Ups
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 11475
PY  - 2005
Y2  - July 2005
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11475
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w11475.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Celestine Chukumba
University of Notre Dame
E-Mail: Celestine.O.Chukumba.1@nd.edu

Richard Jensen
Dept. of Economics 
University of Notre Dame
434 Flanner Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
E-Mail: richard.jensen.24@nd.edu
M2  - featured in NBER digest on 2005-07-11
AB  - This paper develops a game-theoretic model that predicts when a university invention is commercialized in a start-up firm rather than an established firm. The model predicts that university inventions are more likely to occur in start-ups when the technology transfer officers (TTOs) search cost is high, the cost of development or commercialization is lower for a start-up, or the inventor's effort cost in development is lower in a start-up. We test the theory using data from the Association of University Technology Managers, the National Research Council, and the National Venture Capital Association. Licensing is more likely in general, and especially so in start-ups, by universities with higher quality engineering faculty and older TTOs. Start-ups are more likely by universities in states with larger levels of venture capital. TTO size has no effect on start-ups, but does increase licenses. Conversely, universities that earn greater licensing royalties have fewer start-ups but more licenses. The number of start-ups is decreasing in the interest rate, increasing in the S&P 500, and unaffected by levels of industrial research funding and the presence of a medical school. All of these results are consistent with the predictions of our theory.
ER  -