When innovative research fails: exploring the role of principal investigators
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Morgan Boyce (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Albert Link
Abstract: There is a small but growing body of literature that examines the role of principal investigators in publicly funded R&D projects. In this dissertation I discuss the literature on principal investigators and R&D project failure and found there is limited intersection between the two. I provide a theoretical model in this dissertation which explains how firm characteristics, including those of the principal investigator, impact the probability of failure. The theoretical model serves as a structural form model to motivate the empirical analysis which assesses the probability of failure in small technology-based firms that received a Phase II award from the Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research program. Using a Probit model, I estimate a reduced form specification of the structural model to estimate the probability a firm will experience failure conditional on characteristics of the principal investigator and the firm. I found that prior experience of the firm with a similar technology, university faculty involvement, and the age of the principal investigator are negatively associated with project failure. I also found a positive relationship between failure and firms where the principal investigator was the sole founder and CEO of the firm.
When innovative research fails: exploring the role of principal investigators
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Created on 5/1/2021
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2021
- Keywords
- Innovation, Principal Investigator, Research Failure, SBIR
- Subjects
- United States. $b Department of Energy. $b Small Business Innovation Research Program
- Research and development contracts, Government $z United States
- Small business $x Technological innovations $z United States
- Small business $x Risk management $z United States