Abstract
Patent strategy is increasingly recognized as a vital contributor in promoting core competitiveness of an enterprise. A top management team (TMT) has been indicated as one of the key factors driving changes in patent strategy. Based on upper echelons theory, this study examines how TMT characteristics, including, team diversity, emotional intelligence, and safety climate, influence enterprise patent strategic change and, hence, the business outcome. The data from 930 top managers in 228 enterprises showed that the changes in patent strategies are significantly influenced by the characteristics of top managers. These aforementioned internal TMT factors have diverse effects on the speed and scope of the enterprise patent strategic change, which in turn affects firm performance in a positive and negative way, respectively.
Highlights
A vital factor for the economic growth and the wealth of nations, innovation-driven development in science and technology is viewed as a key national strategy in the global economic competition
This study offers guidance for strategists on building top management team (TMT) at different developmental stages, reducing the negative impact that an individual executive personality has on implementing patent strategic change (PSC) and constructing more objective changes to better cope with fierce environmental changes and promote enterprise competitiveness
TMT emotional intelligence, and TMT safety climate to capture the impact of TMT characteristics on PSC, and further, to test the relationship between the speed and scope of the change and firm performance, we conducted surveys in MBA and EMBA classes and numerous enterprises, where managers were required to complete the questions in the classroom or in their workplaces
Summary
A vital factor for the economic growth and the wealth of nations, innovation-driven development in science and technology is viewed as a key national strategy in the global economic competition. The amount and significance of patents do not guarantee success in the competition. Due to changes in both internal and external environments, enterprises are always confronted with huge challenges such as iteration of the patent technology, patent life cycle, and “winner-takes-all” patent competition (Parnell, 1998; Yang and Rui, 2010). As a former top leader in the mobile phone business, Nokia used to own much more competitive patents than other companies, whereas Huwei, the leader of the communications industry, has succeeded in maintaining its leading place in the world. From a strategic management perspective, the success is attributed to changes in the strategy in response to circumstantial variations when facing dramatic challenges Why enterprises with cutting-edge technologies and huge amount of patents end up so differently? From a strategic management perspective, the success is attributed to changes in the strategy in response to circumstantial variations when facing dramatic challenges
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