Virtual Special Issue on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Strategic Management

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2282
• Date: 01 December 2016
• Published date: 01 December 2016
• Author: Aija Leiponen,Will Mitchell

Virtual Special Issue on Innovation, Intellectual Property and Strategic

Management

Abstract

WillMitchellandAijaLeiponen

WearepleasedtointroduceourinauguralVirtualSpecialIssueonIntellectual

PropertyandStrategy.Thisvirtualcollectionreviewsthefoundationsofthis

literatureandmorerecentdirectionstopromotescholarlyandmanagerial

conversationsandfurtherresearchonthesetopics.



Eversincetheresource‐basedviewofthefirm(Barney,1991;Peteraf,1993;

Wernerfelt,1984)andthenotionofdynamiccapabilities(Teece,Pisano,and

Shuen,1997),uniqueresourcesthattypicallyaregeneratedthrough

innovationhavebeenattheheartofourthinkingofstrategicmanagement.

Competitivedifferentiationiscreatedthrough“isolatingmechanisms”(Rumelt,

1984)thatenablefirmstostrategicallypreventimitation.Intellectualproperty

rightsandcontractualcontrolrightsaretwotypesofisolatingmechanismsthat

haveoccupiedcentralpositionsinstrategicmanagementresearch,andmore

recentlyinstrategicentrepreneurshipandglobalstrategyresearch.However,

theimportanceofthesemechanismsvariesacrossfirmsandindustries.Hall

(1992)suggestedinanearlysurveystudythat,overall,reputationand

knowhowwerequiteabitmoreimportantforsustainableadvantagethan

contractsandIPrights,andCohenetal.(2000)showedinamorerecentsurvey

thatmostmanagersemphasizedspeedtomarketoverformalrights.

Nevertheless,theseformallegalrightscanbepowerfulstrategictoolsin

certainindustriesorsituations,asdiscussedbelow.

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