The role of inventor-entrepreneurs: empirical evidence from China

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impact of entrepreneurs’ inventor identity and entrepreneur patent participation on enterprise performance using the panel data of 358 firms from the Science and Technology Innovation Board in China from 2014–2019. The methodology applied in this study is ordinary least square (OLS) regression. Inventor identity (a dummy variable) and patent participation (measured by Entrepreneur Degree Centrality and Entrepreneur Betweenness Centrality) are independent variables. The dependent variable enterprise performance is split into patent quantity, speed, and quality. The results show that an entrepreneur’s inventor identity positively affects the patent quantity and quality but slows the patent speed. Entrepreneur Degree Centrality negatively affects the patent quantity and quality but increases the patent speed. Entrepreneur Betweenness Centrality positively affects the patent quantity and quality, and there is a U-shape association between Entrepreneur Betweenness Centrality and patent speed. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs who are inventors can actively improve the patent quantity and quality. Still, an entrepreneur’s full participation in patent may negatively affect the patent quantity and quality. Entrepreneurs should participate in a patent in a direction-oriented or node-controlled way.

KEYWORDS:

• Innovation
• patent
• inventor
• entrepreneur

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) #1 under Grant [number 71573108]; and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province #2 under Grant [number KYCX19_1565].