Innovation in the public sector in a small open economy-initial investigation of patent activity at the Czech universities

Petra Maresova,Ivan Soukal,Kamil Kuca,Ruzena Stemberkova

doi:10.1186/s13731-020-00117-5

Petra Maresova, Ivan Soukal + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-020-00117-5

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Abstract

For a successful economy, the interaction between research and its application in practice plays a key role. The aim of this paper is to analyze the institutional factors of patent activity at universities in the Czech Republic. The following five factors were selected for detailed investigation: budget from government, number of employees: professors, associate professor, and assistant professor, number of researchers and other employees, number of students (PhD, master, and bachelor), technology transfer workers. The patent activity analysis used methods of retrospective data analysis in the field of R&D activities, unstructured interviews, and statistical data processing. Following from the basic characteristics of the collected data, patent activity is related to the nature of universities, where technical universities are in leading positions in the monitored period of industrial-legal protection. However, the importance of encouraging innovation activity across all disciplines is crucial. The result of monitoring the dependency shows that a relationship of efficiencies and patent output is influenced by the size of a university. Secondly, there can be observed that technology transfer efficiency contributes more to the patent output that research staff efficiency.

Highlights

The competitiveness of economies depends on the ability to create new technologies and use them to create new products and innovative solutions (Drumea & Mirela, 2015)
Data collection The patent activity analysis used the method of retrospective data analysis in the field of Research and development (R&D) activities as well as internal documents and measures of individual universities in the Czech Republic relating to the protection and management of intellectual property
It follows from the above that patents, innovation, and technology transfer are a key issue for the Czech Republic as an open economy

Summary

Introduction

The competitiveness of economies depends on the ability to create new technologies and use them to create new products and innovative solutions (Drumea & Mirela, 2015) Global issues, such as environmental challenges, can be most efficiently tackled when applied research is promoted by revenue received from licensed intellectual property. In this respect, a major role is played by universities, especially in terms of access to intellectual property and an institutional support of this process. A major role is played by universities, especially in terms of access to intellectual property and an institutional support of this process Should they succeed in this highly competitive field, the universities must seek collaboration opportunities with leading institutions, foundations, and companies involved in research. Balancing the requirements of research publication on the part of the universities and research commercialization on the part of the businesses presents a complex challenge (Ambos et al, 2008; Chang et al, 2009), which is being approached from different perspectives

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