Teece, D.J. (1986). ‘Profiting from technological innovation: implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy’

Question 1

What are factors that determine who wins from innovation?

Answer 1

appropriability regime
complementary assets
dominant design paradigm

Question 2

What are the most important dimensions of an appropriability regime?

Answer 2

nature of technology
- product vs. process
- tacit vs. codified knowledge

efficacy of legal mechanisms of protection
- patents
- copyrights
- trade secrets

Question 3

What is meant by appropriability regime?

Answer 3

environmental factors, excluding firm and market structure, that govern an innovator’s ability to capture the profits generated by an innovation

Question 4

What is meant by complementary assets?

Answer 4

In almost all cases, the successful commercialization of an innovation requires that the know-how in question be utilised in conjunction with other capabilities or assets. Those are called complementary assets.

Examples:
- Competitive manufacturing
- Distribution
- Service
- Complementary technologies
etc.

Question 5

What is the difference between generic, specialized, and cospecialized assets?

Answer 5

Generic assets are general purpose assets which do not need to be tailored to the innovation in question.

Specialized assets are those where there is unilateral dependence between the innovation and the complementary asset.

Cospecialized assets are those which there is a bilateral dependence.

Question 6

What options do firms have when it comes to managing complementary assets?

Answer 6

Myriad of intermediate forms between fully integrated and full contractual extremes.

Boundaries of the firm are an important strategic variable for innovating firms.

Question 7

What are situations where integration is preferred over contractual agreements`

Answer 7

Specialized complementary assets
Weak appropriability regime
Specialized asset critical
Ok cash position
Better positioned than imitators/competitors

Question 8

The ownership of complementary assets, especially when they are _ and/or _, help establish who wins and who loses from innovation.

Answer 8

The ownership of complementary assets, especially when they are specialized and/or cospecialized, help establish who wins and who loses from innovation.

Question 9

Imitators can often outperform innovators if they are better positioned with respect to critical _.

Answer 9

complementary assets