Inventor-entrepreneurial behavior: examining patents

Purpose This paper identifies patent behavioral patterns among Chinese inventor-entrepreneurs and leverages patent signaling and social capital theory to establish how distinct entrepreneurial profiles drive these behaviors. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study based on grounded theory. Data were collected from 60 semi-structured interviews. Findings This study reveals that four distinct types of inventor-entrepreneurs emerge from three organizational modes, exhibiting differing performances throughout the technological innovation process. Furthermore, these types exhibit seven distinctive patterns of patent-related behavior. Research limitations/implications This study extends Type of Entrepreneur Theory by revealing patent-behavioral subtypes (Explicit, Implicit, Narrow and Broad) and their contextual drivers, integrates Signaling Theory with Social Capital Theory to explain how inventor identity (not just patents) reduces information asymmetry in guanxi (relationship) networks and provides a contextualized framework for emerging economies where institutional voids amplify symbolic patenting. Practical implications The implications of this work extend to broader society, suggesting that other countries might emulate these behaviors to enhance patent production and organizational innovation. The results could potentially contribute to a best practice toolkit with potential economic and commercial impacts. Originality/value This study set out to cultivate a more profound understanding of inventor-entrepreneurs in China by redefining their connotations and categorizing them into different organizational modes, stages of the technological innovation process and patent behavior patterns. This categorization is based on the signaling effect of patents and their influence on entrepreneurs' social capital. This study proposes a new theory of patent socialization to explain the innovation paradox under policy distortion and refines the boundary conditions of the entrepreneur typology theory for weak institutional environments.