TY - JOUR
T1 - To patent or not to patent
T2 - That is the question. Intellectual property protection in family firms
AU - Chirico, Francesco
AU - Criaco, Giuseppe
AU - Baù, Massimo
AU - Naldi, Lucia
AU - Gomez-Mejia, Luis R.
AU - Kotlar, Josip
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2020/3/1
Y1 - 2020/3/1
N2 - This study examines family firms’ propensity to protect their intellectual property through patents. Building on the mixed gamble logic of the behavioral agency model, we theorize that family ownership has a U-shaped relationship with firm propensity to patent. Specifically, we argue that family firms’ desire to prevent losses of current socioemotional wealth (SEW) inhibits their propensity to patent until a threshold level of family ownership, beyond which the family’s SEW is secured and a greater focus on prospective financial gains attainable through patents is possible. We also suggest that environmental munificence moderates this nonlinear relationship such that a low-munificent environment accentuates the potentially detrimental (beneficial) effects of low-to-medium (medium-to-high) levels of family ownership on patents. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 4,198 small- and medium-sized family firms.
AB - This study examines family firms’ propensity to protect their intellectual property through patents. Building on the mixed gamble logic of the behavioral agency model, we theorize that family ownership has a U-shaped relationship with firm propensity to patent. Specifically, we argue that family firms’ desire to prevent losses of current socioemotional wealth (SEW) inhibits their propensity to patent until a threshold level of family ownership, beyond which the family’s SEW is secured and a greater focus on prospective financial gains attainable through patents is possible. We also suggest that environmental munificence moderates this nonlinear relationship such that a low-munificent environment accentuates the potentially detrimental (beneficial) effects of low-to-medium (medium-to-high) levels of family ownership on patents. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 4,198 small- and medium-sized family firms.
KW - environmental munificence
KW - family firms
KW - innovation
KW - intellectual property protection
KW - patent
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064178693&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85064178693&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1042258718806251
DO - 10.1177/1042258718806251
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064178693
SN - 1042-2587
VL - 44
SP - 339
EP - 367
JO - Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
JF - Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
IS - 2
ER -