Is Academic Entrepreneurship Good or Bad for Science? Empirical Evidence from the Max Planck Society

Based on new data, this paper studies invention disclosure, licensing, and firm formation activities of Max Planck Institute directors over the time period 1985-2004, and analyzes their effects on scientists' publication and citation records. The results are consistent with prior findings that inventing does not adversely affect research output. More mixed results are obtained with regard to academic entrepreneurship. The analysis raises questions vis-à-vis earlier explanations for positive relationships between inventing and publishing. It finds little evidence than inventors learn from interacting with firms. Likewise, license revenues do not enable scientists to step up their research activities.