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Formation of the appropriability regime
Strategic and practical considerations
Pia Hurmelinna-Laukkanen
Senior Researcher; Project Manager, Lappeenranta School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland
Kaisu Puumalainen
Professor, Lappeenranta School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lappeenranta, Finland
Abstract
Facilitated by improved networks and communication, knowledge spills over to competitors more easily than before, thus creating an appropriability problem. Consequently, protection of intangibles calls for new approaches. Companies have various means of protection at their disposal, but creating barriers against imitation also has another side to it; transfer of knowledge in situations requiring knowledge sharing may be unintentionally obstructed.
The aim of this study is to increase understanding of how firms can balance knowledge protection and sharing so as to benefit most from their knowledge assets. Thus, knowledge protection is approached through an examination of the appropriability regime of a firm, and its formation among 299 firms.
Keywords
appropriability regime, protection mechanisms, imitation, knowledge sharing, intellectual property, innovation performance
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