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How open is too open? The mitigating role of appropriation mechanisms in R&D cooperation settings
Author(s) -
Veer Theresa,
Lorenz Annika,
Blind Knut
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
randd management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.253
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1467-9310
pISSN - 0033-6807
DOI - 10.1111/radm.12232
Subject(s) - imitation , appropriation , harm , business , intellectual property , german , corporate governance , process (computing) , industrial organization , psychology , political science , finance , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , computer science , law , history , operating system
In this article, we investigate the influence of firms’ R&D cooperation activities on their likelihood to experience imitation. Analyses of firm‐level survey data concerning the R&D cooperation behavior of 2,797 German firms reveal that companies engaging in R&D cooperation face significantly more imitation than their peers that do not cooperate on R&D. Further, we show that cooperation with all potential collaboration partner types except universities and research institutions and in all phases of the innovation process increases the risk of imitation. While we find evidence that intellectual property rights (IPR) generally work well as governance mechanisms moderating the relationship between R&D cooperation and imitation, contracts do not. Hence, IPR apparently provide better protection against imitation than contracts. Our findings indicate that the risks associated with firms’ increased engagement in R&D cooperation could eventually harm the production of new knowledge.