Do military personnel patent?
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Authors
Bladen, Shane A.
Subjects
innovation
creativity
patent
patents
inventor
creativity
patent
patents
inventor
Advisors
Hartmann, Latika
Date of Issue
2016-12
Date
Dec-16
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This study identifies individual characteristics correlated with successful innovative behavior among all Marine Corps officers who accessed between 1990 and 2000. To measure innovation, it determines if an individual has ever received a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Based on identical first and last name matches plus other assumptions, it identifies 20 officers with existing patents in the USPTO database of inventors. Using personnel data from the Marine Corps, it finds that officer inventors are more likely to be younger when they access, are less likely to be married, and serve slightly less time than non-inventors. However, these differences are not significant in a standard regression analysis. The most significant correlate of patenting is an officer's initial pistol score. The findings broadly suggest that pistol scores are likely a proxy for unobserved ability that is correlated with patenting. We recommend the study be expanded beyond the initial scope to identify more officer inventors and other correlates of patenting.
Type
Thesis
Description
Reissued 24 Feb 2020 with typographical correction to Section I.B.
Series/Report No
Department
Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (GSBPP)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.