Using a novel, manually-collected dataset, we find that firms whose chief executive officer (CEO) is an inventor experience significantly better innovation outcomes, as measured by patents and future citations. We obtain these results in models with firm fixed effects, in...

We examine whether short sellers exacerbate or mitigate managerial myopia by using a firm's patenting activities to capture managers' myopic behavior. To establish causality, we use exogenous variation in short-selling costs generated by a quasi-natural experiment, Regulation SHO, which removes...

We find that network centrality is associated with a higher number and better quality of innovation. Network centrality also positively relates to a number of breakthrough innovations, and firms that exert greater influence in the innovative network have higher profitability. Moreover, network...

This paper studies the question why patents for multi-product monopolies should be finite. The monopolist is developing new versions of the basic product continuously and simultaneously invests into the improvement of all the existing and newly created products, thus optimally managing both...

Patents lead to ex-post dead-weight losses arising from a non-competitive market structure for the invention. Many have argued that introducing independent invention as a defense (IID) to patent infringement can increase social welfare by decreasing such dead-weight losses at the price of a...

In 2015, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standardization Association made some controversial changes to its patent policy. The changes include a recommended method of calculation of FRAND royalty rates, and a request to members holding a standard essential patent...

This paper studies the puzzle of what caused the surge in US patenting in the 1980s. I first argue that, under the standard view of patents, where value depends only on the appropriable rents created by the patent's exclusive property rights over related technologies and product markets, this...

Successful innovative activity is a major contribution to the intangible capital of firms. Although its importance is generally acknowledged, the contribution to companies? profits is a priori unclear. We present the results of an empirical study on the effects of the patent stock on...

The present paper first discusses theoretically the different incentives of manager- versus owner-controlled firms for investment into innovative activity. In addition, the role of debt financing is analyzed. Subsequently the results from an empirical study on the determinants of innovative...

The theoretical discussion concerning the question whether the incumbent or the (potential) entrant invests more into R&D has attracted considerable interest. This paper reports the results of an empirical study on this question using data of about 3500 German firms over the years 1992 to 1995....