Do firms face a trade-off between the quantity and the quality of their inventions?

► We show that firms face a trade-off between invention quality and quantity. ► We address the identification problem caused by differences in patent propensity. ► Invention quality must be taken into account when assessing research productivity. This paper presents evidence that firms face a trade-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research policy 2013-06, Vol.42 (5), p.1072-1079
Main Author: de Rassenfosse, Gaétan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Author productivity
Eastern Europe
Econometrics
Economic theory
Enterprises
Europe
Innovation performance
Invention quality
Invention quantity
Inventions
Measurement
Patent explosion
Productivity
Propensity to patent
Quality standards
R&D
Research & development
Research productivity
Studies
Trade-off
Tradeoff analysis
Western Europe
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Summary:► We show that firms face a trade-off between invention quality and quantity. ► We address the identification problem caused by differences in patent propensity. ► Invention quality must be taken into account when assessing research productivity. This paper presents evidence that firms face a trade-off between the quantity and the quality of their research output. The econometric analysis uses survey data on patent applicants at the European Patent Office and addresses the identification problem caused by differences in firms’ propensity to patent. The existence of a trade-off emphasizes the need to take the quality of research output into account when assessing research productivity. It also raises questions about the optimal quantity–quality mix that firms should target.
ISSN:0048-7333
1873-7625
DOI:10.1016/j.respol.2013.02.005