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Yacoub Storey & Haefliger - Appropriability mechasnisms - R&D Management accepted version 2020.pdf (535.17 kB)

Appropriability mechanisms for manufacturing and service firms: the contingencies of openness and knowledge intensity

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posted on 2023-06-07, 06:59 authored by Ghassan Yacoub, Chris StoreyChris Storey, Stefan Haefliger
Conventional wisdom argues that appropriating returns from innovation requires protection mechanisms. However, there will be limits to the effectiveness of formal and informal appropriability mechanisms for innovation performance. Their effectiveness will be contingent on the nature of the knowledge that firms are trying to protect and the openness of their innovation strategy (sharing knowledge while attempting to protect knowledge is known as the ‘paradox of openness’). Do these boundary conditions apply to both manufacturing and service firms equally though? Analyzing data from the UK Community Innovation Survey, this study provides evidence for a continuum – from discrete product manufacturing firms, whose products rely heavily on codified, explicit knowledge and for which formal methods are strongly associated with innovation performance, to knowledge-intensive service firms, which tend to rely more on complex tacit knowledge and for which innovation is linked to informal, not formal, appropriability. The findings show that the paradox of openness is a limited problem for service firms. The benefits of collaboration for innovation performance outweigh any reduction in the effectiveness of appropriability. For manufacturers, the benefits of collaboration disappear with high formal appropriability, and thus, discrete product manufacturers, contrary to conventional wisdom, may find it beneficial to reduce collaboration breadth and invest in informal appropriability mechanisms. Knowledge-intensive servitized manufacturers find formal methods effective but only with no or minimal collaboration.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

R&D Management

ISSN

0033-6807

Publisher

Wiley

Issue

5

Volume

50

Page range

551-572

Department affiliated with

  • Strategy and Marketing Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-05-14

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2022-05-13

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-05-14

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