The Power of Individual-Level Drivers of Inventive Performance

Based on an established theoretical framework of the drivers of inventive performance, the so-called KSAO (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other) factors, this paper seeks to explain empirically the performance of inventors throughout their careers. We combine survey information spanning the inventors’ entire careers and psychometric test evidence, with patent history data for more than 1,000 inventors. We also control for variables that have traditionally been included in estimations of inventive performance such as inventor age and a broad list of applicant institution-, technology-, patent-, and period-related information. We show that educational level, skills acquired during the career, personality traits, career motivations, cognitive abilities, and cognitive problem-solving style are significantly related to inventive performance. Key-words: Inventive performance; individual drivers; patent history; survey JEL Codes: J24; M54; O31; O32 1 Corresponding author. University of Würzburg, Sanderring 2, 97070 Würzburg, E-Mail: [email protected]. We would like to thank Lee Doris, Francesco Lissoni, Eduardo Melero, and Jana Oehmichen for good suggestions. We also thank the OECD for providing us with the classifications of clean technology patents. The authors acknowledge financial support from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Reference No.: ZW 172/2-1, Term: 2012-2014).