Commercialization of Technological Innovations: Spatial and Other Correlates of Success

摘要

This paper examines correlates of successful technological innovation among small businesses and independent inventors. It contributes to our understanding of what is required for an inventor working outside the large corporate environment to commercialize an invention. It does this by comparing and contrasting spatial and aspatial traits of successful vs unsuccessful inventors, based on data from a recent evaluation of the Department of Energy and Department of Commerce's Energy-Related Inventions Program. Results of the study showed that commercially successful inventors shared several traits. They tended to commercialize their inventions through licensing and to share the commercialization responsibilities. They tended not to be ''professional inventors,'' but rather have entrepreneurial expertise and interests. Spatially, the commercially successful inventions were predominantly located in the country's high technology growth regions. (ERA citation 12:045547)