Technological innovation and the availability of financial capital provide two essential drivers of economic growth. Although this was recognised early on by prominent research scholars such as Schumpeter (1939), empirical research on the direct link between technological innovation and the availability of financial capital has since lagged behind. On this background the present study empirically examines the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the process of enabling technology-driven firms to tap into capital markets.
In doing so it targets several readerships in (a) creating a framework for equity analysts to value technology-driven companies (b) deriving indicators of credit risk that can be used by credit rating agencies (c) establishing aconceptual framework for IPR management to be used by product managers in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (d) deriving a framework for companies investor relations regarding how IPR information can be disclosed in a manner that increases the value of the company (e) providing guidance to policy makers on how to enhance the informational efficiency of capital markets in a manner that fosters technological innovation and economic growth (f) providing material for research scholars and students taking courses in corporate finance as well as innovation management and economics.