The effect of cooperative research and development agreements on technology transfer from federal laboratories to industr

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of cooperative research and development agreements (CRDAs) on technology transfer from federal laboratories to U.S. industry. CRDAs were legislatively stimulated by the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Transfer Act of 1986. Congressional concern with the nation's global competitiveness led to the Act. A ten-fold increase in transfer actions occurred in the first four years after CRDAs were enacted. This research explores the causes of that increase.;The Act allows federal laboratory employees to share in royalties earned when their inventions result in new products after the technology is transferred to the private sector. This research tests the hypothesis that the offer of personal financial rewards incentivized them and explains the increased transfers.;The research design for this dissertation includes sampling employees from eight laboratories of three federal agencies, DOD, DOE and NASA. Questionnaires were distributed through each agency's Office of Research and Technology Application. Qualitative data were obtained by interviewing managers and laboratory directors who had authority to allocate CRDA resources.;A major finding of this dissertation is that anticipation of personal financial rewards is not what motivated employees to work on CRDAs. Rather, they were motivated by the belief that their efforts would, in priority order, be: Good for the nation, good for their laboratory, and satisfying to their management who wanted them to produce successful CRDAs.;This research reinforces the literature's recognition of the importance of non-monetary incentives. Financial incentives did not motivate the increase in technology transfers; altruism and organizational survival needs were much more salient. The research also contributed to the field of public administration by providing research evidence of the ability of Congress to work effectively with the Administration to address serious national problems such as world-wide competitiveness. CRDA's results are impressive evidence of this ability.