Meyer, M Are patenting scientists the better scholars? An exploratory comparison of inventor-authors with their non-inventing peers in nano-science and technology RESEARCH POLICY, 35 (10): 1646-1662 DEC 2006

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: m.s.meyer at sussex.ac.uk 

Author(s): Meyer, M (Meyer, Martin) 

Title: Are patenting scientists the better scholars? An exploratory 
comparison of inventor-authors with their non-inventing peers in nano-
science and technology 

Source: RESEARCH POLICY, 35 (10): 1646-1662 DEC 2006 

Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

Author Keywords: patent-publication trade-off; science-technology linkage; 
star scientists; bibliometrics 

Keywords Plus: ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITIES; ACADEMIC INVENTORS; PUBLIC 
SCIENCE; TRIPLE-HELIX; INNOVATION; NANOTECHNOLOGY; BIOTECHNOLOGY; 
KNOWLEDGE; NETWORKS; PATTERNS 

Abstract: This paper explores the relationship between scientific 
publication and patenting activity. More specifically, it examines for the 
field of nano-science and nano-technology whether researchers who both 
publish and patent are more productive and more highly cited than their 
peers who concentrate on scholarly publication in communicating their 
research results. This study is based on an analysis of the nano-science 
publications and nano-technology patents of a small set of European 
countries. While only a very few nano-scientists appear to hold patents in 
nano-technology, many nano-inventors seem to be actively publishing nano-
science research. Overall, the patenting scientists appear to outperform 
their solely publishing (non-inventing) peers in terms of publication 
counts and citation frequency. However, a closer examination of the highly 
active and highly cited nano-authors points to a slightly different 
situation. While still over-represented among the highly cited authors, 
inventor-authors appear not to be among the most highly cited authors in 
that category, with a single notable exception. One policy implication is 
that, generally speaking, patenting activity does not appear to have an 
adverse impact on the publication and citation performance of researchers. 
(c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 

Addresses: Univ Sussex, Freeman Ctr, SPRU, Brighton BN1 9QE, E Sussex, 
England; Katholieke Univ Leuven, Louvain, Belgium; Helsinki Univ Technol, 
Inst Strategy & Int Business, Espoo, Finland 

Reprint Address: Meyer, M, Univ Sussex, Freeman Ctr, SPRU, Brighton BN1 
9QE, E Sussex, England. 

E-mail Address: m.s.meyer at sussex.ac.uk 

Cited Reference Count: 90 

Times Cited: 4 

Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV 

Publisher Address: PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 

ISSN: 0048-7333 

29-char Source Abbrev.: RES POLICY 

ISO Source Abbrev.: Res. Policy 

Source Item Page Count: 17 

Subject Category: Management; Planning & Development 

ISI Document Delivery No.: 122QI 

ASTEBRO T
The return to independent invention: Evidence of unrealistic optimism, 
risk seeking or skewness loving? 
ECONOMIC JOURNAL 113 : 226 2003 

AZAGRACARO J
J TECHNOLOGY TRANSFE 31 : 257 2006 

AZAGRACARO JM
C KNOWL EC SOC CHANG : 2003 

BALCONI M
Networks of inventors and the role of academia: an exploration of Italian 
patent data 
RESEARCH POLICY 33 : 127 DOI 10.1016/S0048-7333(03)00108-2 2004 

BASSECOULARD E
HDB QUANTITATIVE SCI : 665 2004 

BHATTACHARYA S
Large firms and the science-technology interface - Patents, patent 
citations, and scientific output of multinational corporations in thin 
films 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 265 2003 

BLAUWHOF G
THESIS U AMSTERDAM : 1995 

BLUMENTHAL D
Participation of life-science faculty in research relationships with 
industry 
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 335 : 1734 1996 

BRUSONI S
Knowledge specialization, organizational coupling, and the boundaries of 
the firm: Why do firms know more than they make? 
ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY 46 : 597 2001 

BUDWORTH DW
OVERVIEW ACTIVITIES : 1996 

CALDERINI M
162 CESPRI U BOCC MI 2004 

CALDERINI M
5 INT TRIP HEL C TUR 2005 

CALVERT H
Pemetrexed (Alimta): A promising new agent for the treatment of breast 
cancer 
SEMINARS IN ONCOLOGY 30 : 2 DOI 10.1053/sonc.2003.37267 2003 

CLARK BR
CREATING ENTREPRENEU : 1998 

COWARD HR
IDENTIFYING THE SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY INTERFACE - MATCHING PATENT DATA TO A 
BIBLIOMETRIC MODEL 
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & HUMAN VALUES 14 : 50 1989 

DARBY MR
11181 NBER 2005 

DARBY MR
9825 NBER 2003 

ELLIS P
STUDIES ON PATENT CITATION NETWORKS 
JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION 34 : 12 1978 

ELLIS P
P INT S PAT INF DOC : 1977 

ETKOWITZ H
U GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE E : 1997 

ETZKOWITZ H
ENTREPRENEURIAL SCIENTISTS AND ENTREPRENEURIAL UNIVERSITIES IN AMERICAN 
ACADEMIC SCIENCE 
MINERVA 21 : 198 1983 

GEUNA A
University patenting and its effects on academic research: The emerging 
European evidence 
RESEARCH POLICY 35 : 790 DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2006.04.005 2006 

GIBBONS M
NEW PRODUCTION KNOWL : 1994 

GITTELMAN M
Does good science lead to valuable knowledge? Biotechnology firms and the 
evolutionary logic of citation patterns 
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 49 : 366 2003 

GLANZEL W
NANOTECHNOLOGY ANAL : 2003 

GLANZEL W
Patents cited in the scientific literature: An exploratory study 
of 'reverse' citation relations 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 415 2003 

GLASER J
Intraorganisational evaluation: are there 'least evaluable units' 
RESEARCH EVALUATION 13 : 19 2004 

GODIN B
Research and the practice of publication in industries 
RESEARCH POLICY 25 : 587 1996 

GODIN B
The new production of knowledge: The dynamics of science and research in 
contemporary societies 
SOCIAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE 28 : 465 1998 

GODIN B
THESIS U SUSSEX BRIG : 1993 

GRANSTRAND O
Multi-technology corporations: Why they have ''distributed'' rather 
than ''distinctive core'' competencies 
CALIFORNIA MANAGEMENT REVIEW 39 : 8 1997 

GULBRANDSEN M
4 TRIPL HEL C COP NO 2002 

GULBRANDSEN M
Industry funding and university professors' research performance 
RESEARCH POLICY 34 : 932 DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2005.05.004 2005 

HEINZE T
NANOTECHNOLOGY LAW B 1 : 427 2004 

HELLER MA
Can patents deter innovation? The anticommons in biomedical research 
SCIENCE 280 : 698 1998 

HICKS D
Bibliometric techniques in the evaluation of federally funded research in 
the United States 
RESEARCH EVALUATION 13 : 78 2004 

HICKS D
The changing composition of innovative activity in the US - a portrait 
based on patent analysis 
RESEARCH POLICY 30 : 681 2001 

HULLMANN A
Publications and patents in nanotechnology - An overview of previous 
studies and the state of the art 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 507 2003 

KLITKOU A
IN PRESS SCIENTOMETR 70 : 

KUMARAMANGALAM K
ASLIB P 57 : 261 2004 

KUUSI O
Technological generalizations and leitbilder - the anticipation of 
technological opportunities 
TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE 69 : 625 2002 

LANGLOIS RN
IND CORP CHANGE 1 : 99 1992 

LESSIG L
FUTURE IDEAS FATE CO : 2001 

LEYDESDORFF L
The Triple Helix of university-industry-government relations 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 191 2003 

MALO S
Science-technology linkages in an emerging research platform: The case of 
combinatorial chemistry and biology 
SCIENTOMETRICS 47 : 303 2000 

MALSCH I
Nanotechnology in Europe: scientific trends and organizational dynamics 
NANOTECHNOLOGY 10 : 1 1999 

MALSCH I
NANOTECHNOLOGY EUROP : 1997 

MARKIEWICZ KR
COMMERCIALIZING LAB : 2004 

MARTIN B
VEST 13 : 9 2000 

MCMILLAN GS
An analysis of the critical role of public science in innovation: the case 
of biotechnology 
RESEARCH POLICY 29 : 1 2000 

MEYER M
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIO : 2004 

MEYER M
MAPPING EXCELLENCE N : 2002 

MEYER M
Academic patents as an indicator of useful research? A new approach to 
measure academic inventiveness 
RESEARCH EVALUATION 12 : 17 2003 

MEYER M
Towards hybrid Triple Helix indicators: A study of university-related 
patents and a survey of academic inventors 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 321 2003 

MEYER M
Tracing knowledge flows in innovation systems 
SCIENTOMETRICS 54 : 193 2002 

MEYER M
Patent citations in a novel field of technology - What can they tell about 
interactions between emerging communities of science and technology? 
SCIENTOMETRICS 48 : 151 2000 

MEYER M
Nanotechnology - Interdisciplinarity, patterns of collaboration and 
differences in application 
SCIENTOMETRICS 42 : 195 1998 

MEYER M
WORLD PATENT INFORM 27 : 113 2005 

MEYER MS
Patent citation analysis in a novel field of technology: An exploration of 
nano-science and nano-technology 
SCIENTOMETRICS 51 : 163 2001 

MEYER MS
THESIS U SUSSEX BRIG : 2002 

MURRAY F
The role of academic inventors in entrepreneurial firms: sharing the 
laboratory life 
RESEARCH POLICY 33 : 643 DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2004.01.013 2004 

MURRAY F
Innovation as co-evolution of scientific and technological networks: 
exploring tissue engineering 
RESEARCH POLICY 31 : 1389 2002 

MURRAY F
SPRU C HON KEITH PAV : 2003 

NARIN F
RES EVALUAT 5 : 183 1995 

NARIN F
The increasing linkage between US technology and public science 
RESEARCH POLICY 26 : 317 1997 

NARIN F
IS TECHNOLOGY BECOMING SCIENCE 
SCIENTOMETRICS 7 : 369 1985 

NOYONS ECM
MAPPING EXCELLENCE S : 2004 

NOYONS ECM
EXPLORING THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INTERFACE - INVENTOR AUTHOR RELATIONS 
IN LASER MEDICINE RESEARCH 
RESEARCH POLICY 23 : 443 1994 

OPPENHEIM C
Do patent citations count? 
ASIST MONOGRAPH SERIES : 405 2000 

PRICE DJD
IS TECHNOLOGY HISTORICALLY INDEPENDENT OF SCIENCE - A STUDY IN STATISTICAL 
HISTORIOGRAPHY 
TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE 6 : 553 1965 

RABEHARISOA V
DYNAMICS SCI BASED I : 45 1992 

RANGA LM
Entrepreneurial universities and the dynamics of academic knowledge 
production: A case study of basic vs. applied research in Belgium 
SCIENTOMETRICS 58 : 301 2003 

RAPMUND A
9 NORD WORKSH BIBL I 2004 

RIP A
TECHNOLOGICAL DEV SC : 231 1992 

SARAGOSSI S
J TECHNOLOGY TRANSFE 28 : 47 2003 

SCHMOCH U
5 INT C HIGH ED CUB 2006 

SCHMOCH U
HDB QUANTITATIVE SCI : 717 2004 

SCHUMMER J
Multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, and patterns of research 
collaboration in nanoscience and nanotechnology 
SCIENTOMETRICS 59 : 425 2004 

STEPHAN PE
IN PRESS EC INNOVATI : 2005 

STOKES D
PASTEURS QUADRANT BA : 1997 

TIJSSEN RJW
HDB QUANTITATIVE SCI : 695 2004 

TIJSSEN RJW
Unravelling the cognitive and interorganisational structure of 
public/private R&D networks: A case study of catalysis research in the 
Netherlands 
RESEARCH POLICY 25 : 1277 1997 

VANLOOY B
Combining entrepreneurial and scientific performance in academia: towards 
a compounded and reciprocal Matthew-effect? 
RESEARCH POLICY 33 : 425 DOI 10.1016/j.respol.2003.09.004 2004 

VERBEEK A
Linking science to technology: Using bibliographic references in patents 
to build linkage schemes 
SCIENTOMETRICS 54 : 399 2002 

WHALLEY P
THE SOCIAL PRACTICE OF INDEPENDENT INVENTING 
SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY & HUMAN VALUES 16 : 208 1991 

ZITT M
Delineating complex scientific fields by an hybrid lexical-citation 
method: An application to nanosciences 
INFORMATION PROCESSING & MANAGEMENT 42 : 1513 DOI 
10.1016/j.ipm.2006.03.016 2006 

ZITT M
SCIENTOMETRICS 63 : 373 2004 

ZUCKER GL
5342 NBER 1995 

ZUCKER LG
Intellectual human capital and the birth of US biotechnology enterprises 
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW 88 : 290 1998 

ZUCKER LG
Star scientists and institutional transformation: Patterns of invention 
and innovation in the formation of the biotechnology industry 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA 93 : 12709 1996