Gender Diversity, R&D Teams and Patents: An Application to Spanish Firms

XREAP 2018/01

48 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2018

See all articles by Mercedes Teruel

Mercedes Teruel

Rovira i Virgili University

Agustí Segarra-Blasco

Rovira i Virgili University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 9, 2018

Abstract

Previous results show that gender diversity increases the probability that firms invest in R&D and engage in innovation. This paper explores the relationship between gender diversity of R&D departments and their capacity to patent. Based on the Spanish Community Innovation Survey between 2004 and 2014, we apply a two-step procedure in order to control for endogeneity. Although gender diversity affects OEPM patents negatively, its impact is non-significant for patents with international coverage (EPO, USPTO, or PCT). A relevant result is the fact that the generation of patents is positively affected by the diversity of categories in the R&D labs. Our results highlight that, gender diversity of R&D teams does not play a relevant impact on the capacity of the firm to register patents. However, the diversity according to the professional role in R&D teams exerts a positive influence. In sum, the key question is not the gender diversity per se but the gender diversity jointly with the professional status.

Keywords: gender diversity, patent generation

JEL Classification: O30, O31, J16

Suggested Citation

Teruel, Mercedes and Segarra-Blasco, Agustí, Gender Diversity, R&D Teams and Patents: An Application to Spanish Firms (February 9, 2018). XREAP 2018/01, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3120901 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3120901

Mercedes Teruel (Contact Author)

Rovira i Virgili University ( email )

Av. Universitat 1
Tarragona, Tarragona 43204
Spain

Agustí Segarra-Blasco

Rovira i Virgili University ( email )

Campus Sescelades, Carretera de Valls s/n
43006 Tarragona, Tarragona 43007
Spain

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