Profiting from sustainable innovation? an empirical study of innovations by SME's

P. Morales, Meindert Flikkema, Carolina Castaldi, Ard-Pieter de Man

Research output: Contribution to ConferenceAbstractAcademic

Abstract

Conventional appropriation literature suggests intellectual property (IP) protection mechanisms and complementary assets play a crucial role in obtaining returns from innovation. However, sustainable innovators face a paradox: they must craft commercially successful innovations that benefit both the firm and society. In light of this challenge, questions arise about how, to what extent, and even whether IP protection mechanisms and complementary assets play a role in capturing value from sustainable innovations. Based on a sample of sustainable innovation award entries, we measure the extent to which
IP protection mechanisms and complementary assets are applied to profit from sustainable innovations. We also examine the extent of their contribution to a sustainable innovation’s commercial success. Our findings raise questions about the role of complementary assets in the exploitation of sustainable innovation. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to investigate the above. While lead time advantage contributes thereto, a sizeable portion of innovators benefit from neither formal intellectual property rights nor complementary assets. This may imply that sustainable innovations present a boundary condition for the widely accepted profiting from innovation framework.
Original languageEnglish
Pages85
Publication statusPublished - 2021
EventEuropean Policy for Intellectual Property -
Duration: 9 Sept 202110 Sept 2021

Conference

ConferenceEuropean Policy for Intellectual Property
Period9/09/2110/09/21

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