University regulations, regional development and technology transfer: The case of Brazil

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 158; p. 120129
• Main Authors: Soares, Thiago J., Torkomian, Ana L.V., Nagano, Marcelo Seido
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.09.2020; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Agreements; Brazil; Colleges & universities; Costs; Economic development; Economics; Innovations; Inventors; Licenses; Licensing; Licensing (technology); Patent applications; Protection; Regional development; Regulation; Regulations; Technological change; Technology transfer; Technology transfer regulation; Transaction costs; Brazil; Regional development; Brazil; Technology transfer regulation; Technology transfer
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120129

•The quality of internal university regulations is positively associated with patenting and licensing outcomes.•The mere availability of university regulations has no effect on patenting- and only a slight effect on licensing outcomes.•Universities in less developed regions may be protecting without properly assessing their commercial potential.•The potential impact of university policies on technology transfer depends on the context in which universities are located.•To design effective TT regulations, universities need to consider idiosyncrasies of the contexts in which they are located. In this study, we explore how the interplay of the quality of university regulations and regional economic development impacts new patent applications and licensing agreements in the context of Brazilian universities. To do that, we rely on data from a recent survey conducted by the Brazilian Innovation and Technology Transfer Managers National Forum (FORTEC Innovation Survey). Employing negative binomial models, we find that the quality of technology-transfer-related regulations has a positive impact on both patenting and licensing activities, whereas the mere existence of those regulations has no (or only little) effect on technology transfer outcomes. This suggests that the presence of regulations per se may not provide (i) the incentive necessary to outweighing the opportunity costs and motivate academics to engage in technology transfer; and/or (ii) the necessary level of clarity, flexibility and consistency to mitigate uncertainties and transaction costs for both firms and university inventors. We also find a negative relationship between regional economic development and patenting outcomes. In contrast, we determine that universities located in regions with higher levels of economic and innovative activity generate more licensing agreements. Finally, our results suggest that the marginal effects of the quality of both IP protection and licensing regulations are higher in more developed regions.