TY - JOUR
T1 - From divergent meanings to common practices
T2 - The early institutionalization of technology transfer in the life sciences at Stanford University
AU - Colyvas, Jeannette A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Research support provided by the Columbia-Stanford Consortium for Biomedical Research, sponsored by the Merck Foundation. I thank the Stanford University Office of Technology Licensing for access to their archives, and Steve Barley, Arthur Bienenstock, Katharine Ku, James March, Richard Nelson, Walter Powell, Francisco Ramirez, and two anonymous reviewers for very helpful comments on this paper.
PY - 2007/5
Y1 - 2007/5
N2 - The formation of Stanford University's technology transfer program in the life sciences is analyzed from 1968 to 1982. The program evolved from multiple models based on divergent definitions of invention, inventor, rewards, and university-industry boundaries. The eventual program that emerged proved to be widely emulated. The norms of the academy shaped the uses of resources and the conditions of their appropriation. In turn, the currency of industrial science prompted the rethinking of academic norms. The analysis offers insight into the early stages of institutionalization, as the ambiguity of important categories and flexibility of policies were transformed into organizational routines. Today's 'settled' outcomes are the product of highly divergent practices.
AB - The formation of Stanford University's technology transfer program in the life sciences is analyzed from 1968 to 1982. The program evolved from multiple models based on divergent definitions of invention, inventor, rewards, and university-industry boundaries. The eventual program that emerged proved to be widely emulated. The norms of the academy shaped the uses of resources and the conditions of their appropriation. In turn, the currency of industrial science prompted the rethinking of academic norms. The analysis offers insight into the early stages of institutionalization, as the ambiguity of important categories and flexibility of policies were transformed into organizational routines. Today's 'settled' outcomes are the product of highly divergent practices.
KW - Academic entrepreneurship
KW - Biotechnology
KW - Institutionalization
KW - University technology transfer
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U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2007.02.019
DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2007.02.019
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34247622994
SN - 0048-7333
VL - 36
SP - 456
EP - 476
JO - Research Policy
JF - Research Policy
IS - 4
ER -