Intellectual Property Appropriation Strategy and its Impact on Innovation Performance

Abstract

How should intellectual property (IP) be protected and appropriated to gain value for the firm? This study aims to answer this question by examining the impact of the key determinants of IP appropriability, namely organizational resources, IP management practices and organizational learning culture, on innovation performance. The study uses quantitative survey data obtained from the Australian biotechnology, pharmaceutical and ICT industries in order to test several hypotheses. Our results show that exploitation and protection of IP within an organisational learning culture have a significant effect on the firm's innovation performance. The implication for managers is that IP appropriation is likely to be most successful when trade secrets and profits from innovation are applied simultaneously within an organizational learning culture.