{"title":"Beyond the finish line: How losing in patent race drives post-race innovation","authors":"A-Sung Hong","doi":"10.1002/smj.3574","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Although patent races of leading technology firms have garnered significant attention in the prior literature, it remains unclear how the outcome of a patent race affects subsequent firm-level innovation. Drawing on agency theory, we propose that losing a patent race drives firms to pursue more technological innovation than winning due to managerial concerns. To investigate the mechanism, we hypothesize that the positive impact of a lost race on a firm's innovation is more pronounced when more shareholders hold near-term investment horizons and when a CEO is less protected against the pressure of shareholders. By constructing a unique dataset of simultaneous patent applications, we find evidence consistent with the proposed theory.","PeriodicalId":22023,"journal":{"name":"Strategic Management Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Strategic Management Journal","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3574","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Although patent races of leading technology firms have garnered significant attention in the prior literature, it remains unclear how the outcome of a patent race affects subsequent firm-level innovation. Drawing on agency theory, we propose that losing a patent race drives firms to pursue more technological innovation than winning due to managerial concerns. To investigate the mechanism, we hypothesize that the positive impact of a lost race on a firm's innovation is more pronounced when more shareholders hold near-term investment horizons and when a CEO is less protected against the pressure of shareholders. By constructing a unique dataset of simultaneous patent applications, we find evidence consistent with the proposed theory.
期刊介绍:
At the Strategic Management Journal, we are committed to publishing top-tier research that addresses key questions in the field of strategic management and captivates scholars in this area. Our publication welcomes manuscripts covering a wide range of topics, perspectives, and research methodologies. As a result, our editorial decisions truly embrace the diversity inherent in the field.