Measuring efficiency and identifying dynamic efficiency changing patterns of technology licensing of U.S. research institutions using time-lag factored data

This study evaluates efficiencies and their changes of technology licensing practices of 46 U.S. research institutions using licensing data of the association of university technology manager (AUTM) survey from 1991 to 2007. Data envelopment analysis and Malmquist Index are well-known methods evaluating relative performance of service organizations where widely recognized standard evaluation structures do not exist. However, while Malmquist Index provides insight efficiency changes from one period to the following period, it has limitations of non-circularity and infeasibility. Therefore, this study reviews and compares the current approaches addressing these issues and adopts them to evaluate efficiency changes of licensing practices. Also, time-lag effects of the licensing variables are examined based on the findings form authors previous study and applies time-lag incorporated licensing data to the evaluation. The result presents dynamic changes and changing patterns of licensing performance.