TY - JOUR
T1 - Winning the second race of technology standardization
T2 - Strategic maneuvers in SEP follow-on innovations
AU - Yao, Li
AU - Li, Jun
AU - Chen, Kaihua
AU - Yu, Rongjian
N1 - Funding Information:
All authors have contributed equally to this study. We would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive feedback. The authors are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 72204222), the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 20&ZD124), and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (Grant number: 72025403).
Funding Information:
All authors have contributed equally to this study. We would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive feedback. The authors are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 72204222 ), the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 20&ZD124 ), and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant number: 72025403 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/7/1
Y1 - 2024/7/1
N2 - Innovation is cumulative in nature, and follow-on innovation is a way to extract value from existing technology. Thus, to appropriate the value of standard essential patents (SEPs), firms need to win the first race in pushing proprietary technologies to become SEPs and the second race in exploiting SEP-related opportunities in follow-on innovations. This study investigates how, when, and to what effect firms strategically maneuver in follow-on innovations to maximize the value appropriation from SEPs. Drawing from a resource-based logic, we argue that SEP firms’ winning strategic maneuver involves such moves: (a) engaging in early follow-on innovation targeting SEPs, (b) prioritizing the exploitation of SEPs over non-SEPs, and (c) exploiting cross-follow-on innovations to take advantage of the information and network resources they obtain from their participation in the standardization process. We further argue that SEP firms’ strategic maneuvering results in high-quality follow-on innovations, which together with SEPs form stronger patent portfolios. Analyzing a unique dataset of patents from leading Chinese ICT firms matched with forward citations, we find empirical evidence that supports our arguments. Our research has important theoretical and managerial implications for firms’ strategic innovation management with a focus on technology standardization.
AB - Innovation is cumulative in nature, and follow-on innovation is a way to extract value from existing technology. Thus, to appropriate the value of standard essential patents (SEPs), firms need to win the first race in pushing proprietary technologies to become SEPs and the second race in exploiting SEP-related opportunities in follow-on innovations. This study investigates how, when, and to what effect firms strategically maneuver in follow-on innovations to maximize the value appropriation from SEPs. Drawing from a resource-based logic, we argue that SEP firms’ winning strategic maneuver involves such moves: (a) engaging in early follow-on innovation targeting SEPs, (b) prioritizing the exploitation of SEPs over non-SEPs, and (c) exploiting cross-follow-on innovations to take advantage of the information and network resources they obtain from their participation in the standardization process. We further argue that SEP firms’ strategic maneuvering results in high-quality follow-on innovations, which together with SEPs form stronger patent portfolios. Analyzing a unique dataset of patents from leading Chinese ICT firms matched with forward citations, we find empirical evidence that supports our arguments. Our research has important theoretical and managerial implications for firms’ strategic innovation management with a focus on technology standardization.
KW - China
KW - Follow-on innovation
KW - Patent citation
KW - Standard essential patent
KW - Standardization strategy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192977399&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105023
DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2024.105023
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85192977399
VL - 53
JO - Research Policy
JF - Research Policy
SN - 0048-7333
IS - 6
M1 - 105023
ER -