This research examines the effect of a nation's IP environment on the IP management (IPM) strategies of foreign innovative firms. It introduces the conc;ept of a national institutional system of intellectual property protection and enforcement (ISI) to capture the characteristics of a country's IP system. The ISI comprises: (i) formal (de jure) substantive and subordinate laws (including supranational, national and sub-national laws, infrastructure and systems) and (ii) informal (de facto) rules of behaviour of institutional and economic actors. This research reveals that a national ISI can have a significant determinant effect on the IPM strategies of firms at both a macro-level (i.e. expansion decisions and entry-mode choice) and a micro-level (i.e. decisions taken in the host country to manage IPRs). This study identifies and compares the IS Is of two developing countries, namely, India and China, which provide only weak IP protection and enforcement and yet are significant sources of infringing activity. We examine how the ISI of each country impacts on firm strategy, with a focus on three high-technology industries, namely, biosciences, advanced engineering and software-electronics. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers of foreign innovative firms that have operations in India or China, or both. Interview data provide insights into their perceptions and experiences of the ISI of each country and the IPM strategies they deploy to protect and enforce their IPRs. This study reveals strong similarities and differences between the ISIs of both countries, and that this has a varying effect on the IPM strategies of firms depending on the industry context. In particular, we find that the informal rules of behaviour have a greater effect on firm strategy than do formal characteristics of the ISI. We explain why firms from the three focal industries adopt different IPM strategies in response to the ISI of each country, and how these vary in their effectiveness by industry and between the two countries.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:658556 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Mason, Elizabeth Louise |
| Publisher | University of Leeds |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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