Information Technology and Trademarks: Implications for Product Variety

Guodong (Gordon) Gao () and Lorin M. Hitt ()
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Guodong (Gordon) Gao: Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
Lorin M. Hitt: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Management Science, 2012, vol. 58, issue 6, 1211-1226

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between information technology (IT) and trademarks. Using an 11-year panel data set (1987-1997) of IT capital stock, trademark holdings, and other measures for 116 Fortune 1000 manufacturing firms, we find that IT contributes to higher trademark holdings. Further, we find evidence suggesting that firms with more IT capital tend to apply for more new trademarks and retire existing trademarks more quickly, leading to a shorter trademark life cycle. Because trademarks are mainly used by firms to communicate differences among similar products to the marketplace, these results suggest that the business value of IT can be realized in greater product variety. This paper was accepted by Barrie Nault, information systems.

Keywords: business value of IT; trademark; competitive advantage; product variety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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