Innovative Activity in Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Business

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xx

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 1-4

3. Background Literature Review

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 5-12

4. The U.S. Small Business Innovation Research Program

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 13-27

5. The 2005 National Research Council Database

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 29-42

6. Innovative Activity in Minority-Owned and Women-Owned Businesses

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 43-49

7. Estimating the Probability of a Phase II Project Being Discontinued

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 51-61

8. Estimating the Probability of Commercialization

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 63-72

9. Estimating the Success of Commercialization

   • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

   Pages 73-81

10. Estimating Covariates with Knowledge Spillovers

    • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

    Pages 83-92

11. Concluding Remarks

    • Albert N. Link, Laura T. R. Morrison

    Pages 93-93

12. Back Matter

    Pages 95-103

    PDF

This volume examines the involvement of minority- or women-owned businesses in technology-based research, with particular focus on the differences in research outcomes in achieving commercialization. Specifically, the authors empirically investigate the correlation between technologies from projects funded through the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the minority or gender demographics of the owners of the businesses conducting the research. This study offers an opportunity to not only examine public-sector agencies’ investments in research, but also to investigate if there are race and/or gender gaps in such business’ participation in innovative activities. It also provides a means to understand innovation by minorities and women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

Investments in fundamental science and technology research and investments in human capital through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education areimportant building blocks of innovation. Two methods of fueling innovation are to 1) accelerate the commercialization of federally funded research and 2) ensure opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Despite this understanding, there is still a disparity in the rates of educated men and women in STEM fields participating in entrepreneurship. Moreover, the link between underrepresentation of minorities and women across STEM fields correlates with entrepreneurial entry and performance. This book expands on these findings and estimates the probability that (1) a funded research project reaches completion, (2) the developed technology is commercialized, and finally (3) the commercialized technology is successful in the marketplace (i.e., the business gained revenue and market share from the technology).

• US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
• Minority-owned Business
• Women-owned Business
• National Research Council (NRC)
• Innovative Activity
• Human Capital
• Commercialized Technology
• Federally funded research
• Technology-based Research
• Public-sector agencies' investments in research
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
• STEM Education

• Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA

  Albert N. Link

• Innovation Research Group, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, USA

  Laura T. R. Morrison

Albert N. Link is the Virginia Batte Phillips Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Over the past several decades he has distinguished himself as a leading scholar in fields related to entrepreneurship, technology and innovation policy, technology transfer, and program evaluation. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Technology Transfer, and the founder and Editor of Annals of Science and Technology Policy. Dr. Link is a noted advisor to U.S. and international government agencies. Most recently, he has consulted for the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as for the National Academy of Sciences, the Canadian government, and The World Bank. From 2007-2012 Link served as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations (Geneva) in the capacity of co-vice chairperson of the Team of Specialists on Innovation and Competitiveness Policies Initiative. In 2018, Link delivered the European Commission Distinguished Scholar Lecture at the Commission’s Joint Research Center (Seville).


Laura R. T. Morrison is a Research Economist at RTI International. She holds an M.P.P. (Public Policy) from Duke University. Her research focuses on the intersection of economics and technology among women, minority, and economically-disadvantaged populations in the United States and internationally. Her research includes studies on minority and women entrepreneurs and commercialization behaviors for the U.S. Small Business Administration and the National Women’s Business Council and evaluations of programs designed to improve minority and women business owners’ access to capital and public contracting opportunities in the United States.

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