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Helping the Little Guy: the impact of government awards on small technology firms

Author

Listed:
  • Aleksandar Giga

    (University of Southern California
    Delft University of Technology)

  • Alexandra Graddy-Reed

    (University of Southern California)

  • Andrea Belz

    (University of Southern California)

  • Richard J. Terrile

    (California Institute of Technology)

  • Fernando Zapatero

    (Boston University)

Abstract

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provides federally funded research awards to companies with 500 or fewer employees. We explore the differential effects of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR program on firms of various sizes on their future patenting activity. Using propensity score matching, we construct comparable samples of selected and non-selected Phase II SBIR applicants by firm size. We then estimate the effect of selection for the matched sample on the probability of forward patent activity and conditional on any forward patenting, the count of patents within three years of the proposal. While firms with fewer than 10 employees, are least likely to patent, their probability of patenting is positively affected by receiving a Phase II award. We find sparse evidence of corresponding increase for larger firms. Nor do we find any evidence that a Phase II award impacts the conditional number of forward patents in the three years following the award. These data suggest that the Phase II award serves to advance the smallest teams "over the hump" to creating a potential source of competitive advantage.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleksandar Giga & Alexandra Graddy-Reed & Andrea Belz & Richard J. Terrile & Fernando Zapatero, 2022. "Helping the Little Guy: the impact of government awards on small technology firms," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 846-871, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jtecht:v:47:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10961-021-09859-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s10961-021-09859-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Supradeep Dutta & Jenna Rodrigues & Timothy B. Folta, 2023. "Does NIH select the right healthcare ventures through the SBIR grant program?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1206-1220, August.
    2. Helena Lenihan & Kevin Mulligan & Justin Doran & Christian Rammer & Olubunmi Ipinnaiye, 2024. "R&D grants and R&D tax credits to foreign-owned subsidiaries: Does supporting multinational enterprises’ R&D pay off in terms of firm performance improvements for the host economy?," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 740-781, April.
    3. Li, Yunjian & Chen, Jiawen & Li, Li & Huang, Xiaojun, 2024. "Government innovation awards, innovation funds acquisition and enterprise innovation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 846-864.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation policy; SBIR; R&D subsidies; Entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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