DON’T GET CAUGHT ON THE WRONG FOOT: A RESOURCE-BASED PERSPECTIVE ON IMITATION THREATS IN INNOVATION PARTNERSHIPS

J. Nils Foege, Erk P. Piening and Torsten-Oliver Salge
Additional contact information
J. Nils Foege: TIME Research Area, School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstrasse 7, 52072 Aachen, Germany
Erk P. Piening: #x2020;Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Jakob-Welder-Weg 9, 55099 Mainz, Germany
Torsten-Oliver Salge: TIME Research Area, School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University, Kackertstrasse 7, 52072 Aachen, Germany

International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), 2017, vol. 21, issue 03, 1-42

Abstract: Innovation partnerships can be a double-edged sword. While they are important vehicles for learning and value creation, such partnerships also increase a firm’s vulnerability to unintended knowledge leakage and imitation by others. In this study, we go beyond previous research by studying the imitation threats induced by innovation partnership portfolios rather than individual alliances. Drawing on the resource-based view, we develop and test a model that links salient structural attributes of partnership portfolios and distinct forms of imitation. Results from our analysis of 803 German manufacturing firms support our prediction that a firm’s probability of being imitated increases with the partnership variety of its portfolio. We also find that firms can mitigate this threat by carefully selecting innovation partners and using appropriation mechanisms.

Keywords: Imitation; innovation partnership; partnership portfolios; open innovation; resource-based view (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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DOI: 10.1142/S1363919617500232

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