Ioana Stefan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ioana Stefan
Palgrave debates in business and management, 2023
It is unclear how companies choose intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) in open in... more It is unclear how companies choose intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) in open innovation and how this choice affects firm performance. Our study addresses these gaps by using a dat ...
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Jul 1, 2017
There is to date abundant evidence about the way openness-performance liaisons are shaped, yet pa... more There is to date abundant evidence about the way openness-performance liaisons are shaped, yet parallel streams of research point towards an intricate relationship between appropriability and openness. Accordingly, while openness may reveal ample opportunities, risks of e.g. misappropriation should also be accounted for in open innovation processes, as they might affect performance. Recent research highlights the scarcity of studies investigating openness, appropriability and performance, and suggests a further need to analyze this in different stages of the innovation process. This study therefore aims to investigate the effects of three groups of intellectual property protection mechanisms (formal, semi-formal and informal) and openness (in terms of collaboration depth with eight types of partners) on two types of innovation performance (efficiency and novelty) across innovation phases. The analysis is based on a sample of 340 manufacturing firms from three European countries. Findings show that in early stages of the innovation process, efficiency is positively linked to the use of semi-formal appropriability mechanisms, such as contracts, yet negatively related to the use of formal ones, such as patents. The latter potentially illustrates the high uncertainty and increased risks of imitation or misappropriation in early innovation phases. Informal appropriability mechanisms contribute to novelty in earlier as well as later stages. Results further indicate novelty is explained by university collaboration throughout the innovation process, while competitor collaboration positively associates with novelty in later innovation stages. Vertical collaborations with supplier and customers reveal contrasting effects, which could also have implications linked to imitation risks. Furthermore, the negative effects of formal appropriability mechanisms and supplier collaboration on innovation performance in distinct stages of the innovation process might have implications for the socalled paradox of disclosure.
International Journal of Innovation Management, Oct 27, 2022
The Valley of Death (VoD) highlights the challenging crossing from research and development to te... more The Valley of Death (VoD) highlights the challenging crossing from research and development to technology commercialisation. While some studies argue that open innovation (OI) might be beneficial in bridging the VoD, there is lack of consensus on whether and when OI is an enabler or hinder for the VoD. By reviewing literature on the intersection of these topics, this study identifies contexts when OI functions as enabler, e.g., by employing collaborative platforms or inter-industry collaborations, and also situations when OI may pose challenges in the VoD, e.g., highlighting opportunistic behaviour or conflicting perspectives of different partners. The study has theoretical and practical implications and identifies a number of avenues for future research.
International Journal of Project Management, Feb 1, 2021
This study aims to elevate the current understanding of value creation and value capture tensions... more This study aims to elevate the current understanding of value creation and value capture tensions that emerge in open innovation projects and of their potential solutions. In contrast with prior studies that often suggest specific solutions to individual tensions, our study takes an integrative approach by considering complex (bundles of) tensions and potential solutions to these. The study employs qualitative methods and builds on interview data from six case companies and a group of expert informants. We investigate unfolding events from the point when value creation-value capture tensions are identified in open innovation projects, to the search for their solutions. We label such sequences of unfolding events as trajectories. Our findings reveal two types of trajectories: resolution paths , which are trajectories from initial tensions to solutions, and tension loops , where initial tensions persist and/or new tensions emerge after solutions are enforced. We analyze a total of 17 trajectories, of which seven are marked as resolution paths, and ten represent tension loops. For the majority of the tension loops in our data (eight out of ten) the tensions remain unresolved. We further categorize the types of tensions and discuss the implications of our results for researchers and practitioners.
International Journal of Technology Management, 2016
This study focuses on the tense appropriability-openness relationship, defined by some as paradox... more This study focuses on the tense appropriability-openness relationship, defined by some as paradox. Based on an international survey of 415 manufacturing firms, we investigate how the use of different kinds of intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) affects interfirm R&D collaboration while considering partner location in the analysis as well. Our results show that the use of formal, semi-formal or informal IPPMs has different effects on openness in terms of partner variety and depth of collaboration with academic partners, value chain partners and competitors. Moreover, when considering location we uncover previously hidden appropriability-openness liaisons showing that semi-formal or informal IPPMs are mainly valid in relation to national partners, whereas formal appropriability explains international collaborations. One implication of the study is that to better understand the appropriability-openness relationship it is imperative to differentiate between national and international settings. We further suggest that the potential paradox delineating this relationship has a geographical dimension.
This study set out to investigate the use of formal protection mechanisms (formal contracts and I... more This study set out to investigate the use of formal protection mechanisms (formal contracts and IPRs) in interorganisational R&D collaboration with various types of partners within and across national borders. Considering the scarcity of studies that analyse both IPRs and formal contracts in the context of open innovation with different partner types located both nationally and abroad, our study contributes with new evidence about the actual formal mechanisms that are used in R&D endeavours with external partners. Our results suggest that firms mainly engaged in R&D collaboration with local firms mainly rely on contracts and agreements as formal protection mechanisms, while companies with mostly international R&D partners seem to enable knowledge exchange in the context of open innovation by means of IPRs.
The present Master thesis was written during an internship at Deutsche Post DHL Solutions& Innova... more The present Master thesis was written during an internship at Deutsche Post DHL Solutions& Innovations, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL. The main purpose was to make a patent portfolio benchmark for the previously identified business competitors of the DPDHL group. The research questions aimed to find out how relevant the patent portfolio analysis is for comparing competitors and whether or not the results can be matched with other types of rankings. The benchmark was made using the PatentSight software tool. PatentSight allows the patent portfolio analysis of individual companies as well as groups of companies (competitors). The software tool is based on a new approach to benchmark patent portfolios called Patent Asset Index. This approach uses several indicators to measure the patent portfolios strengths. The indicators are based on relatively widely used measures of patent analysis such as the number of citations that a patent has received. However, these measures are further adjusted by the PatentSight indicators in order to prevent false results due to the difference in patents' ages, for instance. The results of the patent portfolio benchmark and their comparison with other rankings have confirmed previous research findings that the patent portfolio analysis is a useful tool which can remove uncertainties and provide new perspectives but cannot be used as single indicator of the competitors' strength. * Due to a confidentiality agreement with the Deutsche Post DHL several paragraphs and subchapters have been partially or completely removed from the present publishable version of the Master thesis.
Coping with tensions in open innovation: Challenges and solutions to co-create and capture value
The whole nine yards : the moderating effects of appropriability intensity on the relationship be... more The whole nine yards : the moderating effects of appropriability intensity on the relationship between external search and performance
The effects of appropriability on firm performance: the moderating effect of openness breadth
Firms relying on external sources of knowledge for innovation may encounter a paradox of openness... more Firms relying on external sources of knowledge for innovation may encounter a paradox of openness concerning the need to both share and protect knowledge in collaborations. Based on an international survey of manufacturing firms this study attempts to illustrate various forms of the paradox by investigating the effects firms’ openness has on appropriability and performance in high and low tech industries. Findings reveal that the paradox is more likely to occur in the high tech industry cluster, thus hinting towards additional challenges firms in this cluster face in practice and underlining the need to include the technological dimension when researching the paradox. Moreover, in the majority of openness-appropriability combinations where we find a potential paradox of openness, firms do not succeed to overcome the paradox. The one exception in our sample is for the high tech firms when collaborating with suppliers and using formal appropriability. By pinpointing the different forms of the paradox this study also contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the role of intellectual property mechanisms in inbound open innovation.
Palgrave debates in business and management, 2023
It is unclear how companies choose intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) in open in... more It is unclear how companies choose intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) in open innovation and how this choice affects firm performance. Our study addresses these gaps by using a dat ...
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Jul 1, 2017
There is to date abundant evidence about the way openness-performance liaisons are shaped, yet pa... more There is to date abundant evidence about the way openness-performance liaisons are shaped, yet parallel streams of research point towards an intricate relationship between appropriability and openness. Accordingly, while openness may reveal ample opportunities, risks of e.g. misappropriation should also be accounted for in open innovation processes, as they might affect performance. Recent research highlights the scarcity of studies investigating openness, appropriability and performance, and suggests a further need to analyze this in different stages of the innovation process. This study therefore aims to investigate the effects of three groups of intellectual property protection mechanisms (formal, semi-formal and informal) and openness (in terms of collaboration depth with eight types of partners) on two types of innovation performance (efficiency and novelty) across innovation phases. The analysis is based on a sample of 340 manufacturing firms from three European countries. Findings show that in early stages of the innovation process, efficiency is positively linked to the use of semi-formal appropriability mechanisms, such as contracts, yet negatively related to the use of formal ones, such as patents. The latter potentially illustrates the high uncertainty and increased risks of imitation or misappropriation in early innovation phases. Informal appropriability mechanisms contribute to novelty in earlier as well as later stages. Results further indicate novelty is explained by university collaboration throughout the innovation process, while competitor collaboration positively associates with novelty in later innovation stages. Vertical collaborations with supplier and customers reveal contrasting effects, which could also have implications linked to imitation risks. Furthermore, the negative effects of formal appropriability mechanisms and supplier collaboration on innovation performance in distinct stages of the innovation process might have implications for the socalled paradox of disclosure.
International Journal of Innovation Management, Oct 27, 2022
The Valley of Death (VoD) highlights the challenging crossing from research and development to te... more The Valley of Death (VoD) highlights the challenging crossing from research and development to technology commercialisation. While some studies argue that open innovation (OI) might be beneficial in bridging the VoD, there is lack of consensus on whether and when OI is an enabler or hinder for the VoD. By reviewing literature on the intersection of these topics, this study identifies contexts when OI functions as enabler, e.g., by employing collaborative platforms or inter-industry collaborations, and also situations when OI may pose challenges in the VoD, e.g., highlighting opportunistic behaviour or conflicting perspectives of different partners. The study has theoretical and practical implications and identifies a number of avenues for future research.
International Journal of Project Management, Feb 1, 2021
This study aims to elevate the current understanding of value creation and value capture tensions... more This study aims to elevate the current understanding of value creation and value capture tensions that emerge in open innovation projects and of their potential solutions. In contrast with prior studies that often suggest specific solutions to individual tensions, our study takes an integrative approach by considering complex (bundles of) tensions and potential solutions to these. The study employs qualitative methods and builds on interview data from six case companies and a group of expert informants. We investigate unfolding events from the point when value creation-value capture tensions are identified in open innovation projects, to the search for their solutions. We label such sequences of unfolding events as trajectories. Our findings reveal two types of trajectories: resolution paths , which are trajectories from initial tensions to solutions, and tension loops , where initial tensions persist and/or new tensions emerge after solutions are enforced. We analyze a total of 17 trajectories, of which seven are marked as resolution paths, and ten represent tension loops. For the majority of the tension loops in our data (eight out of ten) the tensions remain unresolved. We further categorize the types of tensions and discuss the implications of our results for researchers and practitioners.
International Journal of Technology Management, 2016
This study focuses on the tense appropriability-openness relationship, defined by some as paradox... more This study focuses on the tense appropriability-openness relationship, defined by some as paradox. Based on an international survey of 415 manufacturing firms, we investigate how the use of different kinds of intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) affects interfirm R&D collaboration while considering partner location in the analysis as well. Our results show that the use of formal, semi-formal or informal IPPMs has different effects on openness in terms of partner variety and depth of collaboration with academic partners, value chain partners and competitors. Moreover, when considering location we uncover previously hidden appropriability-openness liaisons showing that semi-formal or informal IPPMs are mainly valid in relation to national partners, whereas formal appropriability explains international collaborations. One implication of the study is that to better understand the appropriability-openness relationship it is imperative to differentiate between national and international settings. We further suggest that the potential paradox delineating this relationship has a geographical dimension.
This study set out to investigate the use of formal protection mechanisms (formal contracts and I... more This study set out to investigate the use of formal protection mechanisms (formal contracts and IPRs) in interorganisational R&D collaboration with various types of partners within and across national borders. Considering the scarcity of studies that analyse both IPRs and formal contracts in the context of open innovation with different partner types located both nationally and abroad, our study contributes with new evidence about the actual formal mechanisms that are used in R&D endeavours with external partners. Our results suggest that firms mainly engaged in R&D collaboration with local firms mainly rely on contracts and agreements as formal protection mechanisms, while companies with mostly international R&D partners seem to enable knowledge exchange in the context of open innovation by means of IPRs.
The present Master thesis was written during an internship at Deutsche Post DHL Solutions& Innova... more The present Master thesis was written during an internship at Deutsche Post DHL Solutions& Innovations, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL. The main purpose was to make a patent portfolio benchmark for the previously identified business competitors of the DPDHL group. The research questions aimed to find out how relevant the patent portfolio analysis is for comparing competitors and whether or not the results can be matched with other types of rankings. The benchmark was made using the PatentSight software tool. PatentSight allows the patent portfolio analysis of individual companies as well as groups of companies (competitors). The software tool is based on a new approach to benchmark patent portfolios called Patent Asset Index. This approach uses several indicators to measure the patent portfolios strengths. The indicators are based on relatively widely used measures of patent analysis such as the number of citations that a patent has received. However, these measures are further adjusted by the PatentSight indicators in order to prevent false results due to the difference in patents' ages, for instance. The results of the patent portfolio benchmark and their comparison with other rankings have confirmed previous research findings that the patent portfolio analysis is a useful tool which can remove uncertainties and provide new perspectives but cannot be used as single indicator of the competitors' strength. * Due to a confidentiality agreement with the Deutsche Post DHL several paragraphs and subchapters have been partially or completely removed from the present publishable version of the Master thesis.
Coping with tensions in open innovation: Challenges and solutions to co-create and capture value
The whole nine yards : the moderating effects of appropriability intensity on the relationship be... more The whole nine yards : the moderating effects of appropriability intensity on the relationship between external search and performance
The effects of appropriability on firm performance: the moderating effect of openness breadth
Firms relying on external sources of knowledge for innovation may encounter a paradox of openness... more Firms relying on external sources of knowledge for innovation may encounter a paradox of openness concerning the need to both share and protect knowledge in collaborations. Based on an international survey of manufacturing firms this study attempts to illustrate various forms of the paradox by investigating the effects firms’ openness has on appropriability and performance in high and low tech industries. Findings reveal that the paradox is more likely to occur in the high tech industry cluster, thus hinting towards additional challenges firms in this cluster face in practice and underlining the need to include the technological dimension when researching the paradox. Moreover, in the majority of openness-appropriability combinations where we find a potential paradox of openness, firms do not succeed to overcome the paradox. The one exception in our sample is for the high tech firms when collaborating with suppliers and using formal appropriability. By pinpointing the different forms of the paradox this study also contributes to the ongoing debate concerning the role of intellectual property mechanisms in inbound open innovation.