ABSTRACT

An unanticipated consequence from the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program is the propensity of U.S. firms to sell their SBIR-funded and developed technology rights to foreign entities. While such sales are factually documented in reports from both the U.S. National Academies and from the Department of Defense, the U.S. Congress has only recently shown concern about such activity. Using project-level data, we document the extent of foreign sales of technology rights. We also highlight the role of foreign development funding during the commercialization phase. Our statistical analysis finds a positive association between the probability of selling technology rights to foreign firms or investors and the receipt of foreign development funding. This finding might be a bellwether to the U.S. Congress and to other countries that have adopted programs that mirror the U.S. program.

摘要

美国小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 计划的一个意想不到的后果是，美国公司倾向于将其 SBIR 资助和开发的技术权利出售给外国实体。尽管美国国家科学院和国防部的报告均真实记录了此类销售行为，但美国国会最近才对此类活动表示担忧。使用项目级数据，我们记录了技术权利的对外销售范围。我们还强调了外国开发资金在商业化阶段的作用。我们的统计分析发现，向外国公司或投资者出售技术权的可能性与获得外国发展资金之间存在正相关关系。这一发现可能是美国的风向标