Tracing Mobile Inventors – The Causality between Inventor Mobility and Inventor Productivity

Arbeitspapier

This paper analyzes the causality between inventor productivity and inventor mobility. The results show that the level of education has no influence on inventor productivity. Making use of external sources of knowledge, on the contrary, has a significant effect on productivity. Finally, firm size has a positive impact on productivity. Firm size also influences inventor mobility, although negatively. Whereas existing research implicitly assumes causality to point in one direction, this study ex-ante allows for a simultaneous relationship. To deal with the expected endogeneity problem, instrumental variables techniques will be employed. Results show that mobile inventors are more than four times as productive as non-movers. Whereas mobility increases productivity, an increase in productivity decreases the number of moves.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Discussion Paper ; No. 2006-10

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Management ; Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital ; Management of Technological Innovation and R&D ; Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs ; Personnel Economics: Labor Management
• Subject: Inventor ; Productivity ; Mobility ; Match Quality ; Patent

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hoisl, Karin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Fakultät für Betriebswirtschaft
• (where): München
• (when): 2006

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.5282/ubm/epub.1260
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/104475
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:19-epub-1260-0
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET