Commercialization Speed and Licensing Performance: Evidence from of University-Originated Invention

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between innovation speed and performance in the context of commercialization of university-originated inventions. Focusing on the commercialization speed, defined as the rate of speed at which a lab-scale invention can be developed for commercial sales, we investigate whether there is any systematic association between commercialization speed and the revenue generated by university-originated inventions. Analyzing a sample of inventions from Stanford University, we find that commercialization speed of the invention, measured by pre- and postlicensing speed, is indeed positively associated with its licensing revenue. We also find that the positive relationship between postlicensing speed of commercialization and licensing revenue is contingent on the inventor’s orientation for university-industry collaboration. We discuss the implications of our findings as well as the future avenue of research in technological commercialization.