Teamwork, Technology Combinations, and Value of Innovation

ABSTRACT: We examine the role of teamwork in the inventive process. We show that a better ability of an invention team to combine interdependent technologies results in innovations with both higher scientific and private economic value, leads to more breakthroughs in innovations, helps avoiding failed innovations, and allows speeding up the inventive process. The results hold at patent and firm level and are robust to different specifications. The ability to recombine and synthesize interdependent technologies is a key element by which teamwork drives success in innovation.