Dynamics of first-time patenting firms

• Published in: Research policy Vol. 53; no. 8; p. 105054
• Main Authors: Nilsen, Øivind A., Raknerud, Arvid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2024
• Subjects: Event study design; Firm performance; Panel data; Patenting; O34; C33; Panel data; D22; Event study design; Firm performance; Patenting
• ISSN: 0048-7333
• DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105054

This paper investigates the dynamics of young firms in the period before and after their first-time patent application. The analysis is based on patent data from the Norwegian Industrial Property Office merged with data from several business registers covering a period of almost 20 years. We apply an event study design, supported by descriptive analyses, to assess the short- and long-term effects of patenting and use matching to control for confounding factors. Our results accord with the view that a young firm's innovation strategy, including how much to invest in R&D, is conceived before the intellectual property right is established. Furthermore, our results suggest that patenting exerts a lasting influence on the firm's R&D activity and impacts economic outcomes more broadly. •Short- and long-run effects of patenting on the dynamics of young-firms.•The full population of business enterprises in Norway.•Patent data merged with data from several business registers covering almost 20 years.•Apply an event study design, supported by descriptive analyses.•First patent application is associated with growth in employment, output, assets and R&D activity.•The effects start 2–3 years before the filing of the patent application.