Publication and Patent Behavior of Academic Researchers : Conflicting, Reinforcing or Merely Co-Existing?

Determines whether faculty members engaged inpatenting activity publish less than their non-inventor colleagues and examineswhether inventors' publications differ from those of non-inventors. Data from adetailed analysis of the publication and patenting activities of facultymembers at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, are used to address theresearch questions. The data cover the period between 1995 and 2001 and compare the inventors'scientific profiles to those of non-inventor faculty working in similar fields.Results of the analysis indicate that inventors publish significantly more thantheir non-inventor colleagues. It appears, then, that publication and patentingdo more than co-exist; they produce mutually beneficial spillover effects.(SAA)