DAT: Human Capital and Career Mobility in Science and Engineering-Intensive Start-ups: An Open Access Initial Public Offerings Database

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This project extends an existing database (1996-2008) of the educational and employment histories of the entire top management team and board of directors for firms making initial public stock offering to the period from 1988-1996. The ultimate database will include more that 3,500 newly public firms and 35,000 managers and directors providing career path information for these individuals. These individuals are a central channel by which investments in science and engineering (S&E) research are transformed into economic benefits. In this way, the project addresses one of the primary goals of the Science of Science and Innovation Policy, that of evaluating and tracking the tangible but difficult to measure returns from investments in R&D. Intellectual Merit: The database permits exploration of many areas of inquiry regarding innovation and entrepreneurship. The immediate research examines the following topics: First, because the data is drawn from official biographies, it is possible to analyze the national origin and positions immigrants occupy in high-technology startups. This is a powerful contribution, because earlier research has only studied Indian and Chinese immigrants, the data allows the identification of immigrants and provides a rigorous definition rather than one based on extrapolation from surnames. This approach allows a more scientifically valid analysis. Second, the educational background allows the identification of particular universities and departments making inordinate contributions to specific high-technology industries. This can be used to identify key institutions and programs that might provide templates for wider adoption. Third, the new data can be used to examine the degree to which these most successful high-technology firms are located in regional clusters. Broader Impacts. The creation of a comprehensive database of the individuals involved in initial public offerings has transformative potential. The key to the success of the U.S. economy during the last two decades has been S&E-based entrepreneurship. The analysis of this database contributes to academic studies of key human capital, and, as importantly, permits the optimization of S&E policy meant to encourage small business investment and entrepreneurship. The database is made available to all interested researchers, including business school scholars, economists, geographers, and sociologists. Research based on this database should expand our understanding of the individuals responsible for many of the most successful firms in the U.S. economy.