Value appropriation as an organizational capability: the case of IP protection through patents

Abstract We develop and test a theoretical framework that describes the organizational antecedents of value appropriation capabilities in the context of obtaining patent protection. We argue that intermediate levels of cross‐functional involvement across intellectual property (IP) generation, protection, and utilization activities outperform very high or very low levels of functional specialization in terms of obtaining rapid patent protection; while these activities are distinct enough to generate gains from specialization, there are also significant gains to be generated by coordinating across them, which cross‐functional involvement achieves. Using a unique dataset that combines survey and patent (application) data, and multiple estimation techniques, we test and find support for our arguments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.