IP, openness, and innovation performance: an empirical study

Purpose Intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) include a variety of methods suitable for protecting valuable intangible assets of companies, and it is of great relevance to study how companies use these mechanisms to ensure the appropriability of innovation, in a context in which innovation is increasingly open. Indeed, there is a tension between the aim to share knowledge with external partners and the need to protect valuable know-how. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship among the use of IPPMs, open innovation (OI), and the innovation performance of companies. Design/methodology/approach The study is based upon a survey conducted on 477 firms from Finland, Italy, Sweden, and UK in 2012. Findings The study shows that IPPMs have an indirect impact on innovation performance, mediated by the degree of openness. More precisely, IPPMs positively influence the level of openness, which, in turn, positively influences the innovation performance. Originality/value The empirical analysis contributes on two issues widely debated in the literature: the impact of IPPMs on innovation performance and the role of IPPMs as enablers or disablers of OI.