Abstract
Both appropriability and cooperation are core elements of firms’ innovation strategies. Nonetheless, the hazard of misappropriation (i.e., the risk of losing innovation rents) faced by innovative firms entering into cooperative settings suggests tensions between the strategic goals of appropriating innovation rents and sourcing for external knowledge in cooperation. As a result, firms employ stronger protection mechanisms. Despite a growing interest in this tension among innovation management scholars, we do not know whether firm level strategies significantly impact and how they associate with the use of formal or informal appropriation strategies. In this paper, we investigate and disentangle cooperation and coopetition (collaboration with competitors) as further determinants for a firm’s choice to utilize formal (e.g., patents, trademarks) or informal (e.g., secrecy, lead time) appropriation strategies to capture innovation benefits. We analyze firm level survey data of 1,879 German firms and find that open firms tend to utilize informal appropriation more intensely whereas firms that engage in coopetitive settings show a lower usage of formal appropriation instruments.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Academy of Management Proceedings |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |