Exploring the Foundations of Cumulative Innovation: Implications for Organization Science

Fiona Murray () and Siobhán O'Mahony ()
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Fiona Murray: Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142
Siobhán O'Mahony: Graduate School of Management, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616

Organization Science, 2007, vol. 18, issue 6, 1006-1021

Abstract: Organizational theorists have built a deep understanding of the conditions affecting knowledge sharing. However, for innovation to occur, knowledge must not just be shared, but also reused, recombined, and accumulated. Such accumulation is not inherent to the innovation process but can be either supported or limited by the context in which it occurs. We propose a framework arguing that three conditions shape this context: disclosure, access, and rewards. We show how these conditions operate at the institutional, field, community, and organizational levels. Our framework highlights how when innovators encounter barriers to the accumulation of knowledge, their solutions are often organizational ones rather than legal ones. This suggests an expanding terrain for organizational scholars interested in debates often dominated by law and economics.

Keywords: innovation; intellectual property; ideas; cumulative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (61)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:18:y:2007:i:6:p:1006-1021

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