Factors affecting the propensity of academic researchers in Mexico to become inventors and their productivity

Abstract

<p>We aim to answer the following research questions: Which is the propensity of Mexican Research National System –sni- researchers from universities and institutes to become inventors in patents granted to their institutions? What are the personal, institutional and innovation nature factors which have influence in such propensity? Which factors favor the inventive productivity of the academic inventors? According to the outcomes of three econometric models proposed, using micro data of uspto patents during 1980- 2013 and the sni researchers individual and institutional data, our main findings are: the sni researchers propensity of being inventors of their institutions’ patents is marginal but it is higher when they belong to institutions with an intellectual property regulation. Also, this propensity is associated with: the researcher’s age and its sni level, as personal factors; the institution size and the PhD quality programs approved by conacyt, as institutional factors; finally, technological amplitude, invention scope, the technological collaboration and the importance of the invention, as factors of the innovation nature. While, the research team mixed of women and men and the technology transfer office<em> </em>have not still influence in the <em>pip</em>. Finally, we have tested that the <em>age</em> has influence in the inventors’ productivity in a positive sense and the <em>square_age</em> affects in a negative way. Also, the invention scope<em> </em>and the technological collaboration, have a positive impact. But not, the level of sni researchers-inventors and the sni scientific research area, and neither the PhD academic quality programs.</p>