Individual scientific collaborations and firm-level innovation

Our article focuses on the role of interorganizational collaborations by biotechnology scientists (as captured by co-authorship of research papers) and their impact on the patented innovations of firms. Our results show that even after controlling for factors that have been previously suggested to impact the patent output of a firm, including the firm's strategic alliances, star and nonstar scientists, individual-level scientific ability, and R&D investment, the extent to which a firm's scientists collaborate externally on scientific articles positively influences the firm's innovation. We also find that individual collaborations between firm and university researchers are particularly useful and that regional spillovers enhance the impact of individual collaborations. Our research thus isolates and highlights the role of individual-level (and often informal) collaborative activity in enhancing firm innovation.