Licensing agreements are commonly used when, for instance, exploiting new areas or countries. Trade mark licences are one such example. A trade mark licence gives the proprietor the opportunity to keep its exclusive rights at the same time as another party uses the trade mark in commercial purposes. When licensing an EUTM to a third party, it is possible to include quality control clauses in the agreement in order for the licensor to control that the licensee uses the trade mark correctly. The possibility to include quality control implies that there is no such obligation within EU trade mark law. Yet, in the US, quality control is not only a possibility but also an obligation in order to keep the trade mark registered. Therefore, it is of interest to examine European trade mark law in relation to quality control in licensing. The American view of quality control is examined for illustrative purposes. Within the EU, the essential function of an EUTM means the ability to identify the origin. In addition, one single undertaking is responsible for the quality that is needed for the trade mark to fulfil its essential role in the system of undistorted system. Quality is seen as an economic function of the trade mark and therefore it should not be an obligation to include quality control in trade mark licences. The proprietor should bear the responsibility him- or herself when not including quality control. As a contrast, in the US, the consumers must be protected from deception and therefore it is a requirement for the proprietor to control and maintain the quality by including quality control in trade mark licences. If a trade mark licence does not include quality controls, the licence is considered invalid and the trade mark is considered abandoned. Furthermore, a law and economics perspective is included in the thesis and specifically the theory of TCE and the belonging terms or bounded rationality, opportunism, uncertainty and trust. While the EU seems to value trust more when settling licence agreements, the US seems to value opportunism and uncertainty more due to de fact that consumers must be protected from the proprietors. Since quality control within trade mark licensing appears to lock the proprietor into a situation where it is difficult to differentiate and change the direction of the trade mark, it should not be an obligation to include quality controls in trade mark licences. It should be a privilege for the proprietor to decide on whether to use or not and bear the consequences of that choice.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A meta da cadeia de suprimentos à entregar um conjunto de produtos ou serviÃos de valor agregado desde uma determinada fonte atà o consumidor final. A GestÃo da Cadeia de Suprimentos (GCS) possibilita a melhora do desempenho de longo prazo das empresas individuais e da cadeia como um todo. PorÃm, tal eficiÃncia sà à possÃvel devido ao fluxo eficiente materiais, informaÃÃes e finanÃas. O grau de implementaÃÃo da GCS depende dos diferentes graus de cooperaÃÃo entre os agentes e a Economia dos Custos de TransaÃÃo (ECT) oferece um importante apoio para a anÃlise dos custos incorridos devido a certas estruturas de governanÃa e direciona aÃÃes visando minimizÃ-los. A ECT Ã, portanto, uma teoria econÃmica provedora de um quadro analÃtico capaz de investigar as estruturas de governanÃa das relaÃÃes contratuais dentro de uma cadeia de suprimentos. O objetivo do presente estudo à identificar o impacto dos custos de transaÃÃo presentes em estruturas de governanÃa hÃbrida no gerenciamento da cadeia de suprimentos de empresas que participam do setor industrial naval do CearÃ. Para tal, a dissertaÃÃo utiliza uma metodologia exploratÃria e descritiva, aplicada com abordagens qualitativa e quantitativa. Quanto ao meio, a pesquisa se caracteriza como um estudo de caso. Tendo por base as categorias analÃticas definidas pela ECT, foi possÃvel desenvolver constructos que possibilitaram a visualizaÃÃo dos pontos nodais entre a ECT e a GCS. Partindo de tais pontos nodais, a pesquisa avaliou o nÃvel de importÃncia e a situaÃÃo atual das categorias analÃticas na visÃo do estaleiro e das subcontratadas da Ãrea metalÃrgica e identificou as principais causas e aÃÃes mitigadoras dos custos de transaÃÃo que ocorrem no relacionamento entre os mesmos agentes. O estudo analisou a cadeia de suprimentos do estaleiro em comparaÃÃo com os aspectos ideias da GCS. Por fim, a pesquisa concluiu que as melhorias das condiÃÃes institucionais transpassam, necessariamente, por um aprimoramento das salvaguardas contratuais e que sÃo inescusÃveis o aumento da troca de informaÃÃes, a definiÃÃo de um planejamento para a cadeia, o investimento no capital humano dos agentes e a gestÃo de relacionamentos de longo prazo com as subcontratadas da Ãrea metalÃrgica. / The goal of supply chain is to deliver a set of value-added products or services from its source to the final consumer. The Supply Chain Management (SCM) SCM improves the performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole. However, this improvement is Just possible due to an efficient flow of materials, information, and finances. The degree of implementation of SCM depends on the levels of cooperation among agents and the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) provides a key building block to analyze the costs incurred due to certain choices of governance structures and allows you to direct actions to reduce them. Thus, the Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) is an economic theory that provides an analytical framework for investigating the governance structure of contractual relations within a supply chain. The goal of this study is to identify the impact of transaction costs present in hybrid structures of governance in managing the business supply chain participating in the naval industry of CearÃ. Based on the analytical categories defined by the ECT, it was possible to develop constructs that allowed visualization of the nodal points between the ECT and the GCS. Starting from such nodal points, the survey assessed the level of importance and the current state of analytical categories in the yard vision and subcontractors of the metallurgical area and identified the main causes and mitigating actions transaction costs occurring in the relationship between the same agents . The study also looked at chain shipyard supplies compared with the ideas aspects of GCS. Finally, the survey found that improvements in institutional conditions trespass, necessarily, for an improvement of the contractual and are inexcusable increased exchange of information safeguards, the definition of a plan for the chain, investment in human capital agents and long-term relationships management with subcontractors of the metallurgical area

No início dos anos 2000 consolidou-se o quadro de significativas alterações e ajustes nas estratégias das organizações agrícolas. Destacam-se: a consolidação das organizações, a internacionalização dos sistemas de base agrícola, a inovação presente em processos e produtos e de natureza organizacional, a introdução da variável socioambiental, e a adoção de estratégias de transparência. A cooperação pode exigir investimentos especializados, e os incentivos para a sua realização dependem de mecanismos de controle de custos de transação. Com a presença de incerteza no ambiente econômico e nas transações, a flexibilidade planejada visa eventuais ajustes em face de eventos inesperados. Arranjos institucionais complexos (leia-se, contratos) são observados como forma de responder a necessidades apontadas. Além de confiança, reputação, e mecanismos relacionais, a evolução dos mecanismos sociais por trás dos contratos de sociedade é algo a ser desenvolvido. O presente estudo propõe que as cooperativas agrícolas podem desenvolver mecanismos de governança que geram uma competência adaptativa para enfrentar eventos inesperados. O presente estudo explorou uma visão retrospectiva de estratégias adotadas por cooperativas brasileiras. Assumiu-se aqui uma nova vertente analítica da \"História de Negócios\" e suas implicações voltadas ao sistema agroindustrial. Como diretriz de método, foram seguidas as etapas de identificação das principais estratégias relatadas nos estudos de casos escolhidos, sobre cooperativas, desenvolvidos entre 1991 e 2002. Na sequência compararam-se as estratégias com as diretrizes apresentadas no capítulo teórico. Admite-se que as estratégias que implicam em maiores investimentos em ativos específicos tendem a tornarem mais rígidos os arranjos e dificultam a plasticidade, ou adaptação, das cooperativas agrícolas - onde naturalmente as mudanças ocorrem de forma mais lenta - frente a choques ou eventos externos. / The early 2000s consolidated the framework of significant changes and adjustments in the strategies of organizations working in agribusiness systems. Of note are: the consolidation of the organizations themselves, the internationalization of agricultural-based systems, the innovation in processes and products, organizational innovations, environmental variables and the adoption of transparency strategies. Cooperative efforts may require specialized investments in the form of incentives that depend on transaction cost control mechanisms. The environmental and transactional uncertainties and the need for flexibility on the part of organizations are all considered in the relevant literature. Complex institutional arrangements (contracts) are seen as a means to meet these needs. In addition to trust, reputation and business relationships, the evolution of the social mechanisms behind the contracts of society is an area of study to be further developed. Farming cooperatives are good examples how unexpected events can be addressed and strategies of adaptation can be implemented. In this study, we presented a retrospective view of the strategies adopted by Brazilian cooperatives. We adopted a new analytical \"business history\" approach to agro-based systems. When researching this work, we noticed a lack of research into the history of agribusiness. As a guideline method, we followed the steps of identifying key strategies reported in chosen case studies of cooperatives published between 1991 and 2002. Subsequently, the strategies were compared with the guidelines presented in the work. We admit that strategies based on high levels of asset specificity become more inflexible the arrangements and difficult plasticity or adaptation of the agricultural cooperatives - where changes naturally occur slowly - in face of external shocks or events

International joint ventures (IJV) are frequently stated to be increasingly popular but with significant managerial dissatisfactions in their operations. Severe failure rates of IJVs is distinguished in previous literature, between 30-70 percent eventually end up in failure. Prior research suggests that the management aspect of inter-partner relationships is limited. There is also limits in research regarding the factors impacting how to manage inter-partner relationship and how it relates to IJV performance. The theory used for this study is an integrated framework of social exchange theory (SET) and transaction cost economics (TCE). These theories acquire two sets of mechanisms on how to manage inter-partner relationship and its impact on IJV performance: (1) social mechanisms of trust, communication, and cultural adaptation, and (2) structural mechanisms of ownership control, contract, balanced asset specificity and resource complementarity. The framework is tested empirically using interviews as data collection from five Swedish companies involved in an IJV with partners headquartered in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The outcome of this study suggests that a majority of the mechanisms impact on how to manage an inter-partner relationship and also provide to enhance IJV performance. The most influencing factors on inter-partner management and IJV performance are trust, communication, contract and resource complementarity. We also identified interesting results regarding the interaction between the social and structural mechanisms in relation to management and IJV performance.

Cloud computing is perceived as the technological innovation that will transform future investments in information technology. As cloud services become more ubiquitous, public and private enterprises still grapple with concerns about cloud computing. One such concern is about service level agreements (SLAs) and their appropriateness. While the benefits of using cloud services are well defined, the debate about the challenges that may inhibit the seamless adoption of these services still continues. SLAs are seen as an instrument to help foster adoption. However, cloud computing SLAs are alleged to be ineffective, meaningless, and costly to administer. This could impact widespread acceptance of cloud computing. This research was based on the transaction cost economics theory with focus on uncertainty, asset specificity and transaction cost. SLA uncertainty and SLA asset specificity were introduced by this research and used to determine the technical and non-technical attributes for cloud computing SLAs. A conceptual model, built on the concept of transaction cost economics, was used to highlight the theoretical framework for this research. This study applied a mixed methods sequential exploratory research design to determine SLA attributes that influence the adoption of cloud computing. The research was conducted using two phases. First, interviews with 10 cloud computing experts were done to identify and confirm key SLA attributes. These attributes were then used as the main thematic areas for this study. In the second phase, the output from phase one was used as the input to the development of an instrument which was administered to 97 businesses to determine their perspectives on the cloud computing SLA attributes identified in the first phase. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test for statistical significance of the hypotheses and to validate the theoretical basis of this study. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were done on the data to establish a set of attributes considered SLA imperatives for cloud computing adoption.

Bakgrund: Bakgrund: Under de senaste 20 åren har svensk offentlig sektor präglats av konkurrensprövning genom privatisering av tidigare offentlig sektor. Det skapar en ny marknad där privata och offentliga aktörer skall samverka under statlig samordning och övervakning. Stockholm stads gymnasie- och hemtjänstmarknad är två exempel på kvasimarknader där staten står som finansiär av välfärdstjänsten samtidigt som den utförs av både privata och offentliga aktörer. Tidigare forskning belyser den problematik som uppstår då staten övergår från att vara en primär producent till en övervakande roll. Då statens roll förändras krävs tydligare regler och strukturer för att kunna samordna och styra kvasimarknader. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att beskriva och förstå hur kvasimarknader styrs, med avseende på upplevda verksamhetskrav och uppföljning. Genomförande: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie med ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv. Empirin har inhämtats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer om hur beslutsfattare och marknadsaktörer upplever Stockholm stads gymnasie- och hemtjänstmarknad. Slutsatser: Studien konstaterar att hemtjänstmarknaden, som styrs via tydliga avtal, ger större möjlighet för insyn i verksamheterna och tydligare styrverktyg för Stockholms stad. På gymnasiemarknaden är det svårare för Stockholm att påverka verksamheten hos friskolor då de endast svarar mot Skolinspektionen. Det som ligger till grund för kvasimarknadens funktionalitet och effektivitet beror på det förtroende och tillit som finns mellan beslutsfattare, utförare och kund. Nyckelord: New Public Management, Offentlig styrning, Kvasimarknad, Interorganisato­riska relationer, Ekonomistyrning, Transaktionskostnadsteori. / Background: Over the past 20 years, the Swedish public sector has been characterized by competition through the increasing privatization of public welfare. It creates a new market situation where private and public sector are to co-operate under governmental coordination and monitoring. Stockholm city upper secondary school and home care market are two examples of quasimarkets where the state stands as a financier of the welfare service while it is carried out by both private and public actors. Previous research illustrates the problems that arise when the state changes from being a primary producer to a supervisory role. As the state's role changes it requires clear rules and structures in order to coordinate and control the quasimarkets. Objective: The study aims to describe and understand how quasimarkets are governed, in regard to percieved business requirements and monitoring. Design: The study is a qualitative case study with a hermeneutic perspective. The empirical data has been collected through semi-structured interviews on how policy makers and market actors are experiencing the upper secondary school and home care market. Conclusion: The study notes that the home care market, which is governed by clear agreements and contracts, provides greater transparency between policy makers and market actors. Thus creating better conditions for the usage of management control for the city of Stockholm. In the upper secondary market it is difficult for the city of Stockholm to affect the operations of private schools since they are governed by the Swedish School Inspectorate. The basis for the functionality and efficiency of quasimarkets relies on the confidence and trust that exists between policy makers, market actors and customers. Keywords: New Public Management, Public Governance, Quasimarket, Interorganizational Relations, Management Control, Transaction Cost Economics.

Cette thèse examine les déterminants qui expliquent les types de contrats choisis par les exportateurs et les importateurs pour gérer les risques du commerce international. Elle analyse le cas des exportations chiliennes comme l'un des leaders de l'hémisphère sud sur le commerce des fruits. En appliquant la Théorie de Coûts de Transaction et l'Analyse Institutionnelle, ce travail étudie l'influence de l'incertitude environnementale et comportementale ainsi que la spécificité des actifs sur le degré de complétude, la formalisation et l'exécution des contrats. Cette recherche applique une méthodologie multistrand intégrant des méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives. L'analyse utilise les informations provenant de 39 entretiens directs avec des exportateurs et des importateurs et de 65 enquêtes auprès d' exportateurs conduites à l'aide d'un questionnaire. Elle s'appuie également sur une base de données exhaustive issue des douanes chiliennes et documentant les 170370 transactions avec leurs contrats respectifs réalisées par le Chili dans ses exportations vers l'ensemble du monde sur la période 2009-2010. Elle s'appuie enfin sur 44 cas d'arbitrage international dans le commerce de fruits et légumes. Les résultats montrent que les niveaux d'incertitude environnementale liés aux « risques - pays importateurs » conduisent à des contrats plus complets tandis que des niveaux d'incertitude liés à la périssabilité des fruits conduisent à des contrats moins complets. De son côté, la pénurie d'offre sur le marché met l'entreprise exportatrice dans une position favorable pour négocier des contrats plus complets. Ces transactions internationales sont supportées par des moyens oraux et écrits; dans le négoce international des fruits, les contrats signés sont plus importants que pressenti, et leur rôle est davantage destiné à satisfaire les exigences institutionnelles qu'à compenser les risques. Pour faire respecter les contrats, les entreprises adoptent des mécanismes formels comme les inspections, les assurances et l'arbitrage, ainsi que des mécanismes informels tels que la confiance et la réputation. Cette étude a ses limites car elle porte principalement sur le point de vue de l'exportateur, la base de données des douanes ne fournissant pas l'identité de l'importateur et l'analyse transversale ne permettant pas d'observer l'évolution des pratiques contractuelles dans la durée. Jusqu'à présent, peu de recherches empiriques ont été faites sur les contrats intégrés dans différents contextes institutionnels; cette thèse contribue donc à la connaissance des choix contractuels dans 117 pays importateurs et plus généralement à la compréhension du commerce international des produits périssables. Elle est sur le plan académique, une contribution à la littérature économique et gestionnaire des contrats (complétude, formalisation, exécution) et des changements de forme de gouvernance dans les filières internationales. / This doctoral dissertation examines the determinants explaining the type of contracts chosen by exporters and importers to manage the hazards of international trade. It analyzes the case of Chilean off-season exports as one of the southern-hemisphere leaders in the fruit trade. Applying Transaction Cost Economics and Institutional Analysis as a framework, this work will analyze the influence of environmental and behavioral uncertainty and time-specificity on the degree of completeness, formalization and enforcement of contracts. A multi-strand research design integrating qualitative-quantitative methods is applied to analyze information gathered through: 39 face-to-face interviews with exporters and importers; questionnaire surveys from 65 exporters; an exhaustive Chilean customs database containing 170,370 shipments and contracts from Chile to worldwide buyers; and 44 international arbitration cases for the fruit and vegetable trade. The results show that high levels of uncertainty in the alternative importing countries increase the use of more complete contracts. When levels of fruit perishability are high, this often leads to less complete contracts. Shortage of market supply allows the exporting company a favorable position to negotiate a more complete contract. International transactions are supported by oral and written means; the use of signed contracts is more important than perceived in the fruit industry, but its role is more oriented to respond to institutional requirements rather than as a mechanism to offset hazards, such as exporting to risky countries or dealing with distrustful importers. To enforce contracts firms adopt formal and informal mechanisms. These include inspections, insurance, arbitration, in addition to trust and reputation. Limitations of this study include: the customs database does not include the identity of the importer, the cross-sectional analysis performed does not allow observing the evolution of contracting practices, the study is placed predominately from the exporter's perspective. There is also little empirical research on contracts analyzing transactions embedded in different institutional settings. This thesis contributes to the knowledge of contractual choices in 117 importing countries. It contributes to the understanding of international trade of perishable products. It also contributes to the economics and management literature on international contract completeness, formalization, enforceability, and to literature focusing on the changes of governance in the international supply chains.

The broad objective of this thesis is to develop an understanding of factors affecting outsourcing in the hotel industry and also the role played by management accounting in hotel outsourcing. The thesis draws on transaction cost economics (TCE), agency, contingency, and labour process theories in the context of appraising factors motivating outsourcing. Two empirical phases have been undertaken in the study. The first phase involved a series of interviews with general managers and financial controllers in large South East Queensland hotels. The second phase involved two distinct questionnaire surveys of large Australian hotels. The first was administered to hotel general managers, and the second was administered to hotel financial controllers. Significant findings arising from the study include: 1. In light of the substantial international literature describing hotel outsourcing, it appears that outsourcing in Australian hotels is relatively limited. This appears to be particularly the case with respect to food and beverage related activities. 2. Mixed support is offered for the TCE model. Both the survey and interview data provide some support for TCE's prescription that frequently conducted activities will not tend to be outsourced. Two specific extensions are offered to this aspect of the model, however. Firstly, where activities are conducted to a minimal extent, it can be uneconomic to outsource. Secondly, where large activities are undertaken by a group of organisations, their enhanced purchasing power can result in inexpensive outsourcing arrangements. With respect to TCE's uncertainty proposition, support is offered for the view that the propensity to outsource will be greater where behavioural uncertainty is lower. No support has been offered with respect to environmental uncertainty. The interview data provides some support for TCE's asset specificity proposition, however, minimal support was found in the survey phase. Despite this, the many dimensions of asset specificity (eg. site specificity, human asset specificity, etc) provided a useful checklist of issues to be considered in relation to the outsourcing decision. 3. Negligible support was found for labour process theory (LPT) in the interview phase of the study. In light of this, and the need to narrow the study’s focus in the survey phase, LPT was not pursued further. LPT is a difficult construct to operationalise, given the social desirability error that may result. This may partially account for the absence of significant LPT findings in the interview phase. 4. The survey data provides some support for the agency theory view that risky activities will tend to be outsourced. 5. Considerable cross-hotel variation exists in management of, and accounting's involvement in, outsourcing decision making and control systems. Accounting appraisal of outsourcing proposals rarely includes long term oriented, sophisticated techniques such as "net present value". It appears this may be because outsourcing decisions are not conducted in the context of the formal capital budgeting process. 6. High performing hotels and hotels that conduct their outsourcing decisions in the context of a long term outsourcing strategic agenda have more sophisticated outsourcing management systems.

The goal of this dissertation was to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between supply chain structure and the pursuit of a sustainability-driven corporate strategy. The literature indicates that in order to pursue a sustainability-focused strategy, an increased level of integration across the supply chain is required. However, there are also industry-level dynamics that impact observed levels of vertical integration. That is, some industries are naturally more integrated than others based on the maturity level of the industry. Thus, some firms may experience opposing forces regarding their sourcing strategies once they choose to pursue a sustainability-focused strategy. To explore this potential tension, it is first necessary to objectively measure vertical integration. Several methods for measuring vertical integration exist; however, all of these methods rely exclusively on economic data. These measures might overlook other forms of integration that might be enacted, such as the development of stronger social ties. Thus, this research will seek to utilize a novel method that makes use of social network analysis to assess integration among firms in a supply chain along social dimensions. This dissertation 1) determined the correlation between having a vertically-integrated organizational structure and pursuing a sustainable supply chain strategy by identifying if sustainability-focused companies (SFCs) have a more vertically-integrated organizational structure than their counterparts that are not pursuing such strategies, 2) examined the evolution of supply chain structure as a company becomes more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable over time, and 3) defined the social ties between SFCs and their first- and second-tier suppliers to understand if they develop stronger social ties as a potential substitute for pure vertical integration. This dissertation is comprised of four main parts. In the first part of the dissertation, I compared three recently developed vertical integration indices based on consistency and ease of measurement. The three vertical integration indices studied were empirically tested on companies in the U.S. Medical Devices Industry and the limitations of each are discussed. Our analysis suggested adoption of the Fan and Lang's method. In the second part, I examined the vertical integration level of environmentally sustainable and non-sustainable companies. I empirically examined the vertical integration level of 144 sustainability-focused companies in 9 different industries. The results demonstrate that sustainability-focused companies in the Medical Devices Industry and the Industrials Industry tend to have more vertically integrated organizational structures than their industry competitors that are not pursuing such a strategy since these two industries are production oriented and they have closer relationships with their suppliers. In the third part, the objective was to understand how the organizational structure of sustainability-focused companies changes over time as the companies become more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. I applied trend analysis to the sustainability and vertical integration level of the companies. Our sample consisted of 10 sustainability-focused companies from the industrials industry. I used the content analysis of annual reports to calculate sustainability development scores, and applied the Fan and Lang's method to determine the vertical integration level of the companies. The study results demonstrated an increasing trend in both vertical integration and sustainability development of industrial industry companies over a 15-year of period. Furthermore, the companies became more vertically integrated as their environmental, economical, and social sustainability increased. Finally, in the fourth part, I developed and empirically tested a theoretical model that examines the supplier relationships of sustainability-focused companies (SFCs) to understand if these relationships are substitute to a vertically integrated organizational structure. Furthermore, I tested if SFCs are more socially connected to their suppliers compared to non-sustainable companies (non-SFCs). An online survey instrument was utilized for data collection. The empirical findings of path analysis demonstrated that SFCs establish long term relationships, collaborate, transfer know-how and experience, and create strong-ties with their first and second-tier suppliers to have an organizational structure that is substitute to a pure vertical integration. Findings further revealed that SFCs are connected to their first and second tier suppliers with stronger social ties compared to non-SFCs. Results support the natural transaction cost economics and natural resource based perspectives. Our study results should be useful to researchers and managers who are interested in corporate sustainability behavior.

Innovation comprises the processes of invention and commercialization. While the importance of innovation, especially commercialization, has been widely recognized, existing studies have largely overlooked the commercialization process. By examining the determinants of uses and nonuses of patented inventions from firms at the levels of technology, organization, and project/invention, this study attempts to help fill a critical gap in the literature. In doing so, it enriches theoretical understandings of innovation and, in particular, builds on the evolutionary explanation of technology development, the Teecian framework on profiting from innovation, Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), the Knowledge-Based View (KBV), and open innovation and innovation network perspectives. It also reveals an empirical reality of commercial use and strategic nonuse of patents. The study is based on a novel dataset constructed from multiple sources: inventor surveys, the United States Patent and Trademark Office online database, and COMPUSTAT, among others. After examining the factors affecting overall propensity to commercialize patented inventions, this study explores the factors that affect the organizational paths of commercialization. The empirical estimation indicates that technological uncertainty and a strong internal position of complementary assets raise the propensity for internal commercialization. The study argues that openness of innovation processes and network relationships should affect the choice of commercialization paths. Consistent with the hypotheses, empirical estimations show that external industrial knowledge increases the propensity of internal commercialization. The study also indicates that collaboration has diverging effects on the choice of commercialization paths. While collaboration with firms in vertical relationships tends to favor internal commercialization, collaboration with firms in horizontal relationships tends to favor external commercialization (licensing, start-up). Finally, the study reports findings on the strategic use of patents and then tests hypotheses about the factors driving strategic nonuse. It concludes that a significant portion of U.S. patents are indeed filed for strategic reasons. It also finds that characteristics of technology and firms are significantly associated with different strategies. In particular, firms are more likely to use a patent for strategic defensive purposes when they have larger amounts of assets. The study concludes with discussing managerial and policy implications.