Evaluating the Patent Performance of the Computer Communication Equipment Industry in United States

This study uses data envelopment analysis (DEA) to explore the efficiency of the computer communication equipment industry in United States. The financial data of this study are obtained from the COMPUSTAT database, and the patent data are collected from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database from 2002 to 2004. Moreover, the input variables of this study are total assets, R&D expenditures, and employee productivity, and the output variables are patent counts and patent citations. The average efficiency score of the CCR model and that of the BCC model are 17.21% and 24.56%, and there are three efficient firms in the CCR model while there are five efficient firms in the BCC model. Besides, this study finds out that there is the advantage of firm size for patent performance, and demonstrates that R&D expenditures and employee productivity have positive effects for patent performance in this industry. Results of this study don´t only provide a valuable reference for managers of computer communication equipment companies in reviewing their patent performance and efficiency, but also find out there is the advantage of firm size and suggest them to enhance their employee productivity and R&D expenditures.