Appropriability of innovation results: An empirical study in Spanish manufacturing firms

This study is intended to analyse several mechanisms available to companies in order to appropriate the results of their innovative activities. These mechanisms include patents, industrial secret, cost and time of imitation and continuous innovation. Specifically, this paper focuses on studying the factors that determine the choice of one appropriation method over another. To this end, we propose a specific model of analysis, which includes various hypotheses to be tested in a sample of 258 Spanish manufacturing companies. The results confirm that companies that mostly use explicit knowledge chose the patenting system as a defence mechanism, while those companies in which tacit type knowledge predominates tend to opt for industrial secret. We could also prove that larger companies tend to choose the patenting system as a protection mechanism. Finally, the hypothesis that companies that use high-commitment human resources practices use continuous innovation or technological leadership as a protection mechanism could also be tested.