The Role of Early Inventors in the Development of Follow-On Inventions & Science Translation

In this paper we examine the role early inventors, inventors actively engaged in the early-stage development of a technology, can play as an individual researcher connection to science during the lifecycle of a technology and how these early inventors impact the development of follow-on inventions. Analyzing the development of the lithium-ion battery, our study finds that early inventors can play a unique role in the science translation process...