An Organizational Perspective on Patenting and Open Innovation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhaskarabhatla, Ajay; Hegde, Deepak
• 署名单位: Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; Erasmus University Rotterdam; New York University
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.2014.0911
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 1744-1763
• 关键词: technology and innovation management; patents and intellectual property rights; diffusion of innovation; STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION; management processes; strategy and policy; strategy and firm performance; external environment; organization and management theory; organizational processes

摘要

A change in U.S. patent law in the early 1980s increased the value of patents, particularly for firms in the electronics and semiconductors industry, yet many of the industry's leading firms did not embrace patenting after the change. We show through an in-depth study of International Business Machines (IBM), the world's largest patentee, that the company's practices during much of the 1980s discouraged patenting. IBM adopted pro-patent management practices in 1989 after the installation of a new research and development head and in the face of faltering financial performance. IBM's increased patenting and licensing activities improved its financial bottom lines but curtailed its industry-wide knowledge spillovers. These causes and consequences of pro-patent practices are visible in several other large U. S. corporations. Thus, in the context of the patent explosion of the 1980s, we show that intraorganizational forces such as inertia, financial pressures, and new leadership shaped established firms' uptake of pro-patent management practices and their success. Our findings also suggest that pro-patent practices associated with open innovation may stem the free flow of knowledge across organizational boundaries.