Commercial science, scientists' values, and university biotechnology research agendas

Leland L. Glenna; Rick Welsh; David Ervin; William B. Lacy; Dina Biscotti

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002

Commercial science, scientists' values, and university biotechnology research agendas

Leland L. Glenna, Rick Welsh, David Ervin, William B. Lacy, Dina Biscotti

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

Policies designed to promote the commercialization of university science have provoked concern that basic and publicly accessible research may be neglected. Commercialization policies have altered traditional institutional incentives and constraints, which raises new questions regarding the influence of scientists' values on university research agendas. Our research builds on previous quantitative studies measuring changes in research outcomes and qualitative studies probing differentiation among scientists' value orientations. We developed a nation-wide survey of 912 plant and animal biotechnology scientists at 60 research universities. Our analysis reveals that scientists' value orientations on what we classify as "market" and "expert" science affect the amount of industry funding they receive, the proprietary nature of their discoveries, and the percentage of basic science research conducted in their laboratories. We also find that the percentage of industry funding is significantly associated with more applied research. Our findings provide insights for science and society theory and suggest that strong incentives for public-science research along with adequate public-research funds to preserve the university's vital role in conducting basic and non-proprietary research are needed to complement private-sector research investments at universities.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	957-968
Number of pages	12
Journal	Research Policy
Volume	40
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002
State	Published - Sep 2011
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Agricultural biotechnology
Bayh-Dole Act
Commercial science
Private research funding
Scientist values
University-industry relationships

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Strategy and Management
Management Science and Operations Research
Management of Technology and Innovation

Access to Document

10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002

Cite this

@article{294fc87d75724ad8a2c61ce8ca57ff0e,

title = "Commercial science, scientists' values, and university biotechnology research agendas",

abstract = "Policies designed to promote the commercialization of university science have provoked concern that basic and publicly accessible research may be neglected. Commercialization policies have altered traditional institutional incentives and constraints, which raises new questions regarding the influence of scientists' values on university research agendas. Our research builds on previous quantitative studies measuring changes in research outcomes and qualitative studies probing differentiation among scientists' value orientations. We developed a nation-wide survey of 912 plant and animal biotechnology scientists at 60 research universities. Our analysis reveals that scientists' value orientations on what we classify as {"}market{"} and {"}expert{"} science affect the amount of industry funding they receive, the proprietary nature of their discoveries, and the percentage of basic science research conducted in their laboratories. We also find that the percentage of industry funding is significantly associated with more applied research. Our findings provide insights for science and society theory and suggest that strong incentives for public-science research along with adequate public-research funds to preserve the university's vital role in conducting basic and non-proprietary research are needed to complement private-sector research investments at universities.",

keywords = "Agricultural biotechnology, Bayh-Dole Act, Commercial science, Private research funding, Scientist values, University-industry relationships",

author = "Glenna, {Leland L.} and Rick Welsh and David Ervin and Lacy, {William B.} and Dina Biscotti",

note = "Funding Information: This research is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture , under Agreement No. 2001-52100-11217 . In addition to the authors, project members include Steve Buccola (Oregon State University), Hui Yang (Bank of America), Walt Armbruster (Farm Foundation), Pam Ronald (University of California, Davis), Molly Jahn (University of Wisconsin), and Kristen Kim and Elizabeth Minor (Portland State University). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or of the other project members. We thank John Walsh for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. Funding Information: National Science Foundation (NSF), 2008. Science and Engineering Indicators – 2004. National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. ",

year = "2011",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "40",

pages = "957--968",

journal = "Research Policy",

issn = "0048-7333",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "7",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Commercial science, scientists' values, and university biotechnology research agendas

AU - Glenna, Leland L.

AU - Welsh, Rick

AU - Ervin, David

AU - Lacy, William B.

AU - Biscotti, Dina

N1 - Funding Information: This research is based upon work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture , under Agreement No. 2001-52100-11217 . In addition to the authors, project members include Steve Buccola (Oregon State University), Hui Yang (Bank of America), Walt Armbruster (Farm Foundation), Pam Ronald (University of California, Davis), Molly Jahn (University of Wisconsin), and Kristen Kim and Elizabeth Minor (Portland State University). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or of the other project members. We thank John Walsh for helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. Funding Information: National Science Foundation (NSF), 2008. Science and Engineering Indicators – 2004. National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.

PY - 2011/9

Y1 - 2011/9

N2 - Policies designed to promote the commercialization of university science have provoked concern that basic and publicly accessible research may be neglected. Commercialization policies have altered traditional institutional incentives and constraints, which raises new questions regarding the influence of scientists' values on university research agendas. Our research builds on previous quantitative studies measuring changes in research outcomes and qualitative studies probing differentiation among scientists' value orientations. We developed a nation-wide survey of 912 plant and animal biotechnology scientists at 60 research universities. Our analysis reveals that scientists' value orientations on what we classify as "market" and "expert" science affect the amount of industry funding they receive, the proprietary nature of their discoveries, and the percentage of basic science research conducted in their laboratories. We also find that the percentage of industry funding is significantly associated with more applied research. Our findings provide insights for science and society theory and suggest that strong incentives for public-science research along with adequate public-research funds to preserve the university's vital role in conducting basic and non-proprietary research are needed to complement private-sector research investments at universities.

AB - Policies designed to promote the commercialization of university science have provoked concern that basic and publicly accessible research may be neglected. Commercialization policies have altered traditional institutional incentives and constraints, which raises new questions regarding the influence of scientists' values on university research agendas. Our research builds on previous quantitative studies measuring changes in research outcomes and qualitative studies probing differentiation among scientists' value orientations. We developed a nation-wide survey of 912 plant and animal biotechnology scientists at 60 research universities. Our analysis reveals that scientists' value orientations on what we classify as "market" and "expert" science affect the amount of industry funding they receive, the proprietary nature of their discoveries, and the percentage of basic science research conducted in their laboratories. We also find that the percentage of industry funding is significantly associated with more applied research. Our findings provide insights for science and society theory and suggest that strong incentives for public-science research along with adequate public-research funds to preserve the university's vital role in conducting basic and non-proprietary research are needed to complement private-sector research investments at universities.

KW - Agricultural biotechnology

KW - Bayh-Dole Act

KW - Commercial science

KW - Private research funding

KW - Scientist values

KW - University-industry relationships

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79961027944&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79961027944&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002

DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2011.05.002

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:79961027944

SN - 0048-7333

VL - 40

SP - 957

EP - 968

JO - Research Policy

JF - Research Policy

IS - 7

ER -

Commercial science, scientists' values, and university biotechnology research agendas

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this