The Effect of Patent Protection on Inventor Mobility

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Melero, Eduardo; Palomeras, Neus; Wehrheim, David
• 署名单位: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid; University of Navarra; IESE Business School
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2019.3500
• 发表日期: 2020
• 关键词: inventors; patents; mobility; Specific human capital; examiner leniency

摘要

This article investigates the effect of patent protection on the mobility of early career employee-inventors. Using data on patent applications filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between 2001 and 2012 and examiner leniency as a source of exogenous variation in patent protection, we find that one additional patent granted decreases the likelihood of changing employers, on average, by 23%. This decrease is stronger when the employee has fewer coinventors, works outside the core of the firm, and produces more basic-research innovations. These findings are consistent with the idea that patents turn innovation-related skills into patent-holder-specific human capital.