Abstract
Literature describes R&D cooperation as a source of spillovers causing expropriation from innovation rents, suggesting a tension between the appropriation of innovation rents and R&D cooperation. However, our findings demonstrate that firms’ expropriation experience does not necessarily lead to the expected withdrawal from R&D cooperation but can instead even spur it. We show that expropriation creates value for firms who (a) leverage expropriation as a learning opportunity to develop their appropriation capability and/or (b) strategically respond to expropriation by engaging in specific partnerships for R&D cooperation. We derive our findings from German Community Innovation Survey, patent citation, and interview data. By adopting an organizational learning perspective, we extend the interpretation of appropriation as an organizational capability and contribute to the organizational learning theory. Keywords:
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Proceedings - Academy of Management |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- appropriation strategy
- d cooperation
- expropriation
- imitation
- intellectual property