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Female R&D teams and patents as quality signals in innovative firms

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Listed:
  • Pilar Beneito
  • Maria E. Rochina-Barrachina
  • Amparo Sanchis

Abstract

Innovative firms use patents to signal the quality of their R&D teams in evaluation processes affected by asymmetric information. Examples of these processes occur when applying for finance from external sources or when searching for collaboration partners for innovation projects. In this paper we provide evidence that, in these cases, firms' external agents undervalue patents of female R&D teams as compared to patents of male R&D teams. We investigate this issue using data of Spanish innovating firms from PITEC, spanning 2005–2014, a panel database that follows the structure of the European Community Innovation Surveys (CIS). We interpret our results as consistent with an evaluation bias against female researchers, making them to be subject to a greater scrutiny as compared to their male counterparts, and thereby suggesting the existence of gender discrimination in R&D.

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  • Pilar Beneito & Maria E. Rochina-Barrachina & Amparo Sanchis, 2023. "Female R&D teams and patents as quality signals in innovative firms," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(7), pages 891-922, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:32:y:2023:i:7:p:891-922
    DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2022.2052053
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • C20 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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