Innovation strategy and the patenting behavior of firms

Carine Peeters () and Bruno Pottelsberghe de la Potterie ()
Additional contact information
Carine Peeters: Duke University
Bruno Pottelsberghe de la Potterie: Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Centre Emile Bernheim, DULBEA and CEPR
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Bruno van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie ()

A chapter in Innovation, Industrial Dynamics and Structural Transformation, 2007, pp 345-371 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates whether firms’ innovation strategies affect their patenting behavior, as measured by both the probability of having a patent portfolio and the number of active patents held. Three main dimensions of an innovation strategy are taken into account: the relative importance of basic research, applied research and development work in total R&D activities, the product or process orientation of innovation efforts, and the extent to which firms enter into collaborative R&D with other institutions. The major findings can be summarized as follows: (1) taking into account the various dimensions of an innovation strategy turns out to approximate the patenting behavior of firms better than the traditional Schumpeterian hypotheses related to firm size and market power; (2) there is a positive relationship between the patent portfolio of firms and an outward-oriented innovation strategy characterized by R&D partnerships with external organizations — scientific institutions and competitors in particular; (3) process-oriented innovators patent less than product-oriented innovators; (4) a stronger focus on basic and applied research is associated with a more active patenting behavior; (5) firms that perceive high barriers to innovation (internal, risk-related or external barriers) have smaller patent portfolios; (6) the perceived limitations of the patent system do not significantly influence the patenting behavior, suggesting that firms patent for other strategic reasons than merely protecting innovation rents.

Keywords: Product innovation; Innovation strategy; Collaborative R&D; Patent portfolio; Patent system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Journal Article: Innovation strategy and the patenting behavior of firms (2006)
Working Paper: Innovation strategy and the patenting behavior of firms (2006)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-540-49465-2_18

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9783540494652

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-49465-2_18

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().