Family firms are known for their reluctance to invest in research and development. We show that strengthened trade secret protection is associated with higher R&D investment by family firms. More specifically, we show that the association between the strength of trade secret protection through...

Merger and acquisitions (M&As) have been an important tool for reorganizing the European market since the establishment of European Economic and Monetary Union. This paper suggests that European integration helped and encouraged European firms to source technology across national borders in...

Family firms are known for their reluctance to invest in research and development. We show that strengthened trade secret protection is associated with higher R&D investment by family firms. More specifically, we show that the association between the strength of trade secret protection through...

Patent pendencies create uncertainty in research and development (R&D) collaboration agreements, resulting in a threat of expropriation of unprotected knowledge by potential partners, reduced bargaining power and enhanced search costs. In this paper, we show that - depending of the type of...

There is a growing literature that aims at assessing the private value of knowledge assets and patents. It has been shown that patents and their quality as measured by citations received by future patents contribute significantly to the market value of firms beyond their R&D stocks. This paper...

Classical patent literature assumes that patents grant well-defined legal rights to exclude others from practicing an invention. In this scenario, start-up companies benefit from the exclusive right to commercialize patent-protected inventions and the certification effect of patents which...

This paper analyzes the effects of public R&D subsidies on R&D expenditure in the German manufacturing sector. The focus is on the question whether public R&D funding stimulates or crowds out private investment. Cross sectional data at the firm level is used. By apllying parametric and...

This paper analyzes the effects of public R&D funding on R&D expenditure and patenting behavior of German firms. The main focus is the direct impact of subsidies on R&D and the indirect effect on innovation output measured by patent applications. We distinguish the productivity of purely...

Mit dem Ziel die technologische Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu steigern, investieren die Staaten der OECD jährlich beträchtliche Summen in die Förderung von Forschungs- und Entwicklungsaktivitäten (FuE). Angesichts knapper öffentlicher Budgets ist der Effektivität und Effizienz dieser Förderung...

Literature has identified formal and informal channels in university technology transfer. While formal technology transfer typically involves a legal contract on a patent or on collaborative research activities, informal transfer channels refer to personal contacts and hence to the tacit...