Reputation, VC funding, and innovation: Evidence from the UK Micro and Nanotechnology sector

Startups’ contributions on economic growth have been widely realized. However, the funding gap is often a problem limiting startups’ development. To some extent, VC can be a means to solve this problem. VC is one of the optimal financial intermediaries for startups. Two streams of VC studies are focused in this dissertation: the criteria used by venture capitalists to evaluate startups and the effect of VC on innovation. First, although many criteria have been analyzed, the empirical assessment of the effect of startup reputation on VC funding has not been investigated. However, reputation is usually positively related with firm performance, which may affect VC funding. By analyzing reputation from the generalized visibility dimension and the generalized favorability dimension using a sample of 200 startups founded from 1995 operating in the UK MNT sector, we show that both the two dimensions of reputation have positive influence on the likelihood of receiving VC funding. We also find that management team heterogeneity positively influence the likelihood of receiving VC funding. Second, studies investigating the effect of venture capital on innovation have frequently resorted to patent data. However, innovation is a process leading from invention to successful commercialization, and while patents capture the upstream side of innovative performance, they poorly describe its downstream one. By reflecting the introduction of new products or services trademarks can complete the picture, but empirical studies on trademarking in startups are rare. Analyzing a sample of 192 startups founded from 1996 operating in the UK MNT sector, we find that VC funding has positive effect on the propensity to register trademarks, as well as on the number and breadth of trademarks.

Extended donor and acceptor molecules for organic electronics

Die Untersuchung von halbleitenden Materialien auf der Basis von organischen Molekülen stellt ein Gebiet der angewandten Forschung an der Schwelle zur industriellen Nutzung dar. Geringes Gewicht und hohe mechanische Flexibilität ermöglichen völlig neue Produkte, die mit anorganischen Halbleitern nicht zu realisieren sind. Die Herstellung von Bauteilen wie Transistoren, Solarzellen oder Leuchtdioden aus organischen Materialien ist ein komplexes Gebiet, das einer Vielzahl von unterschiedlichen Optimierungen bedarf, um eine konkurrenzfähige Leistung zu erreichen. Die synthetische organische Chemie bietet vielfältige Möglichkeiten, mit maßgeschneiderten Lösungen zum Optimierungsprozess beizutragen. Zum einen können neue aktive Materialien hergestellt werden mit besserer Leistung und leichterer Verarbeitbarkeit. Zum anderen sind Substanzen zugänglich, die z.B. bei der Ladungsträgerinjektion hilfreich sein können.rnIn dieser Arbeit wurde an beiden dieser Fronten gearbeitet. Dabei lag die Entwicklungsstrategie darin, ausgedehnte π-konjugierte Moleküle herzustellen, die entweder besonders elektronenarme Akzeptoren oder elektronenreiche Donoren darstellen. Die genaue Kontrolle der elektronischen Niveaus stellt einen wichtigen Bestandteil dar, um niedrige elektrische Kontaktbarrieren zu Metallen zu erreichen und ausreichend stabile Materialien zu erreichen.rnDer erste Fokus der Arbeiten lag in der Funktionalisierung von Coronen. Dieser PAH stellt einen guten Kompromiss bezüglich seiner Größe dar: Er ist groß genug, um Diffusion in andere Schichten von Bauteilen zu vermeiden, aber nicht zu groß, um Verarbeitung durch Vakuumsublimation zu ermöglichen. Bislang sind praktisch keine Coronen-Derivate in der Literatur beschrieben, weshalb eine neue Synthese entwickelt werden musste, die die Einführung starker Donor- und Akzeptorfunktionalitäten erlaubt. Die photochemische Cyclodehydrierung von substituierten [2.2.2]paracyclophan-trienen stellte sich als hervorragende Möglichkeit heraus, dies zu bewerkstelligen. Es wurde eine Reihe von methoxy-substitutierten Coronenen mit unterschiedlicher Symmetrie hergestellt. Mittels optischer Spektroskopie konnte gezeigt werden, dass Methoxygruppen wenig Einfluss auf die elektronischen Eigenschaften von Coronen haben. Unter Spaltung der Methylether und anschließender Oxidation allerdings sind Coronenketone zugänglich, welche bis zu drei α-Diketongruppen besitzen. Diese Moleküle sind enorm starke Akzeptoren, was durch Cyclovoltammetrie und Vergleich zu anderen Akzeptoren eindrucksvoll gezeigt werden konnte. Die Sublimation dieses Akzeptors auf die Oberfläche von Metallen zeigt einen dramatischen Einfluss auf die Austrittsarbeit dieses Metalls, was zur Herstellung eines ohmschen Kontakts zu organischen Halbleitern von außerordentlichem Nutzen ist. rnDen zweiten Teil der Arbeit bilden Benzodithiophen enthaltende Polymere, die für den Einsatz als aktive Komponente in elektronischen Bauteilen entwickelt wurden. Nach systematischer Strukturoptimierung wurde ein Polymer enthalten, welches in einem Feldeffekt-Transistor auf Standard-Silizium-Substraten Ladungsträger-Mobilitäten über 0,1 cm2/Vs erreicht mit großer Reproduzierbarkeit und ausgezeichneter Transistor-Charakteristik. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass die durch die Monomergeometrie erzeugte Kurvung des Polymers zu einem optimalen Kompromiss aus Löslichkeit und effektiver Packung darstellt. Auf für industrielle Anwendungen besonders interessanten polymer-basierten Substraten wurde eine noch erheblich bessere Leistung gezeigt. Auf einem PET-Substrat wurden Feldeffekt-Mobilitäten von 0,5 cm2/Vs gemessen mit überzeugenden Reproduzierbarkeit und Stabilität.rnDamit konnte in der Arbeit ein bedeutender Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung von Materialien für den Einsatz in elektronischen Bauteilen geleistet werden. Die Substanzen versprechen noch erhebliches Potenzial nach intensiver Optimierung und wurden deshalb zum Patent angemeldet.rn

The drivers and implications of environmental innovations: European evidence at different levels of analysis

The present work is a collection of three essays devoted at understanding the determinants and implications of the adoption of environmental innovations EI by firms, by adopting different but strictly related schumpeterian perspectives. Each of the essays is an empirical analysis that investigates one original research question, formulated to properly fill the gaps that emerged in previous literature, as the broad introduction of this thesis outlines. The first Chapter is devoted at understanding the determinants of EI by focusing on the role that knowledge sources external to the boundaries of the firm, such as those coming from business suppliers or customers or even research organizations, play in spurring their adoption. The second Chapter answers the question on what induces climate change technologies, adopting regional and sectoral lens, and explores the relation among green knowledge generation, inducement in climate change and environmental performances. Chapter 3 analyzes the economic implications of the adoption of EI for firms, and proposes to disentangle EI by different typologies of innovations, such as externality reducing innovations and energy and resource efficient innovations. Each Chapter exploits different dataset and heterogeneous econometric models, that allow a better extension of the results and to overcome the limits that the choice of one dataset with respect to its alternatives engenders. The first and third Chapter are based on an empirical investigation on microdata, i.e. firm level data extracted from innovation surveys. The second Chapter is based on the analysis of patent data in green technologies that have been extracted by the PATSTAT and REGPAT database. A general conclusive Chapter will follow the three essays and will outline how each Chapter filled the research gaps that emerged, how its results can be interpreted, which policy implications can be derived and which are the possible future lines of research in the field.

Technological trajectories and environmental policy: the transformation of the automobile

This thesis aims to fill the gap in the literature by examining the relationship between technological trajectories and environmental policy in the automotive industry, focusing on the role of environmental policies in unlocking the industry from fossil fuel path-dependence. It first explores the inducement mechanism that underpins the interaction between environmental policy and green technological advances, investigating under what conditions the European environmental transport policy portfolio and the intrinsic characteristics of assignees' knowledge boost worldwide green patent production. Subsequently, the thesis empirically analyses the dynamics of technological knowledge involved in technological trajectories assessing evolution patterns such as variation, selection and retention, in order to study the impact of policy implementation on technological knowledge related to electric and hybrid vehicle technologies. Finally, the thesis sheds light on the drivers that encourage a shift from incumbent internal combustion engine technologies towards low-emission vehicle technologies. This analysis tests whether tax-inclusive fuel prices and technological proximity between technological fields induce a shift from non-environmental inventions to environmentally friendly inventive activities and if they impact the competition between alternative vehicle technologies. The findings provide insights into the effectiveness of environmental policy in triggering inventive activities related to the development of alternative vehicle technologies. In addition, there is evidence that environmental policy redirects technological efforts towards a sustainable path and impacts the competition between low-emission vehicles.

Patent nonnuse: are patent pools as possible solution?

Studies have depicted that the rate of unused patents comprises a high portion of patents in North America, Europe and Japan. Particularly, studies have identified a considerable share of strategic patents which are left unused due to pure strategic reasons. While such patents might generate strategic rents to their owner, they may have harmful consequences for the society if by blocking alternative solutions that other inventions provide they hamper the possibility of better solutions. Accordingly, the importance of the issue of nonuse is highlighted within the literature on strategic patenting, IPR policy and innovation economics. Moreover, the current literature has emphasized on the role of patent pools in dealing with potential issues such as excessive transaction cost caused by patent thickets and blocking patents. In fact, patent pools have emerged as policy tools facilitating technology commercialization and alleviating patent litigation among rivals holding overlapping IPRs. In this dissertation I provide a critical literature review on strategic patenting, identify present gaps and discuss some future research paths. Moreover, I investigate the drivers of strategic non-use of patents with particular focus on unused strategic play patents. Finally, I examine if participation intensity in patent pools by pool members explains their willingness to use their non-pooled patents. I also investigate which characteristics of the patent pools are associated to the willingness to use non-pooled patents through pool participation. I show that technological uncertainty and technological complexity are two technology environment factors that drive unused play patents. I also show that pool members participating more intensively in patent pools are more likely to be willing to use their non-pooled patents through pool participation. I further depict that pool licensors are more likely to be willing to use their non-pooled patents by participating in pools with higher level of technological complementarity to their own technology.

Improvement of migraine headaches after percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale for secondary prevention of paradoxical embolism

Patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been linked to migraine, and an improvement in migraine prevalence or frequency has been reported after PFO closure for other reasons. We sought to identify whether there is a specific patient population of migraineurs which may be more susceptible to benefiting from PFO closure.

Prevention of stroke in patients with patent foramen ovale

Patent foramen ovale is found in 24% of healthy adults and 38% of patients with cryptogenic stroke. This ratio and case reports indicate that patent foramen ovale and stroke are associated, probably because of paradoxical embolism. In healthy people with patent foramen ovale, embolic events are not more frequent than in controls, and therefore no primary prevention is needed. However, once ischaemic events occur, the risk of recurrence is substantial and prevention becomes an issue. Acetylsalicylic acid and warfarin reduce this risk to the same level as in patients without patent foramen ovale. Patent foramen ovale with a coinciding atrial septal aneurysm, spontaneous or large right-to-left shunt, or multiple ischaemic events potentiates the risk of recurrence. Transcatheter device closure has therefore become an intriguing addition to medical treatment, but its therapeutic value still needs to be confirmed by randomised-controlled trials.

Figulla PFO occluder versus Amplatzer PFO occluder for percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale

Percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been shown safe and feasible using several devices. The Occlutech Figulla single layer PFO Occluder (FPO) constitutes an alternative to the Amplatzer PFO Occluder (APFO).

Impact of percutaneous patent foramen ovale closure on migraine course

Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by an increased individual susceptibility to respond to certain triggers by a propagating wave of neuronal depolarization that culminates in typical migraine headaches. Patients with a patent foramen ovale or any kind of right-to-left shunt are more likely to have migraine; and patients with migraine with aura are more likely to have a patent foramen ovale than patients without migraine. Nonrandomized reports of patent foramen ovale closure in divers, in patients with paradoxical embolism and in migraine patients with ischemic brain lesions have shown an impressive reduction in migraine headaches during follow-up. To date, the only double-blind, randomized controlled trial with a sham procedure in the control arm failed to show any benefit, probably owing to inadequate patient selection and maybe because of a high residual shunt rate. Two other randomized trials continue to enroll patients with migraine with aura and drug-refractory headaches and their results are awaited.

Patent foramen ovale may be causal for the first stroke but unrelated to subsequent ischemic events

Studies with very long follow-up are scarce in patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale (PFO). Little is known about the etiology of recurrent cerebrovascular events (CVE) in PFO patients.

Morphological and functional 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts

Evaluation of a novel non-invasive tool for postoperative follow-up of patients postelective saphenous vein coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was performed. Ten patients were included. Their bypass grafts supplied the right coronary artery (7), marginal branches (1), diagonal branches (2), and the circumflex artery (n=1). Each bypass was examined intraoperatively using Doppler flow measurement. Patients were examined with a 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner (MAGNETOM Verio, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) within one week postsurgery using MR-angiography with an intravasal contrast agent and velocity encoded phase-contrast flow measurements. Intraoperative Doppler flow measurements revealed regular flow patterns in all vascular territories supplied. The median intraoperative flow rate was 50 ml/min with an inter-quartile range (IQR) of 42-70 ml/min. The clinical postoperative course was uneventful. MRI showed all grafts to be patent. The median postoperative flow rate was 50 ml/min (IQR: 32-65 ml/min). MRI flow rates agreed well with intraoperative Doppler flow measurements (mean difference: -2.8±20.1 ml/min). This initial study demonstrates that 3-Tesla MRI flow measurements correlated well with Doppler thus reconfirming the graft patency postCABG. Further refinement and broader application of this technique may facilitate follow-up postCABG potentially replacing empiric clinical judgment by reliable non-invasive imaging.

Long-term propensity score-matched comparison of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale with medical treatment after paradoxical embolism

Patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack presumably related to patent foramen ovale (PFO) are at risk for recurrent cerebrovascular events. Differences in long-term clinical outcome were investigated among patients with percutaneous PFO closure and those who received medical treatment.

Pulmonary artery thrombosis in experimental Angiostrongylus vasorum infection does not result in pulmonary hypertension and echocardiographic right ventricular changes

BACKGROUND: Dogs experimentally inoculated with Angiostrongylus vasorum develop severe pulmonary parenchymal lesions and arterial thrombosis at the time of patency. HYPOTHESIS: A. vasorum-induced thrombosis results in arterial hypoxemia, pulmonary hypertension (PH), and altered cardiac morphology and function. ANIMALS: Six healthy Beagles experimentally inoculated with A. vasorum. METHODS: Thoracic radiographs and arterial blood gas analyses were performed 8 and 13 weeks postinoculation (wpi) and 9 weeks posttherapy (wpt). Echocardiography was done before and 2, 5, 8, 13 wpi and 9 wpt. Invasive pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) measurements were obtained 8 wpi. Two untreated dogs were necropsied 13 wpi and 4 treated dogs 9 wpt. RESULTS: All dogs had patent infections at 7 wpi and clinical respiratory signs at 8 wpi. Moderate hypoxemia (median PaO2 of 73 and 74 mmHg) present at 8 and 13 wpi had resolved by 9 wpt. Echocardiographically, no evidence of PH and no abnormalities in cardiac size and function were discernible at any time point. PAP invasively measured at 8 wpi was not different from that of control dogs. Severe radiographic pulmonary parenchymal and suspected thrombotic lesions at 13 wpi were corroborated by necropsy. Most histopathologic changes had resolved at 9 wpt, but focal inflammatory, thrombotic, and fibrotic changes still were present in all dogs. CONCLUSION: In experimentally infected Beagles, pulmonary and vascular changes induced by A. vasorum are reflected by marked radiographic changes and arterial hypoxemia. These did not result in PH and echocardiographic changes in cardiac size and function.

Patent foramen ovale screening by ear oximetry in divers

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that ear oximetry immediately after the release of a sustained Valsalva maneuver accurately detects patent foramen ovale (PFO). One hundred sixty-five scuba divers underwent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE; reference method) for PFO assessment. Ear oximetry of the right earlobe was performed in a different room within a time frame of 2 hours before or after TEE. The subject and the oximetry operator were unaware of the results of TEE. Oxygen saturation (SO(2)) measurements were obtained at baseline and during the release phase of 4 Valsalva maneuvers within 10 minutes, and the average SO(2) change (SO(2) at baseline minus SO(2) at Valsalva release) was determined as the primary study end point. One hundred seventeen divers had no PFO, and 48 (29%) had PFO by TEE (mean age 39 ± 8 years). The average SO(2) change was 0.79 ± 1.13% (i.e., a slight absolute SO(2) decrease in response to the Valsalva maneuver) in the group without PFO and 1.67 ± 1.19% in the PFO group (p <0.0001). Using receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, a PFO as defined by TEE could be detected at a threshold of a Valsalva-induced decrease in SO(2) of ≥0.825 percentage points in comparison to baseline (sensitivity 0.756, specificity 0.706, area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve 0.763, p <0.0001, negative predictive value 0.882). In conclusion, the entirely noninvasive method of ear oximetry in response to repetitive Valsalva maneuvers is accurate and useful as a screening method for the detection of a PFO, as shown in this study of divers.