Speaker: Weiqi Zheng (Ph.D. candidate in Strategy & Innovation, Tilburg University)

Date & Time: Tue. 13, January, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM (Beijing Time)

Location: Tongji Building A2101

ABSTRACT

Appropriability is a core idea in strategy and innovation research. Teece’s (1986) seminal ‘Profiting from innovation’ framework identifies the foundational building blocks that determine appropriability. While this framework has been extensively used to analyze firms’ innovation strategies, what remains understudied is the interplay of these building blocks in affecting the value firms capture from new inventions. We investigate the impact of the interplay of the primary and generative elements of appropriability on the value accrued to firms from their innovations. Using a patent as the unit of analysis, we measure appropriability by the private value of the patent to the firm. In a quasi-experimental setup, we unpack the interrelationship between the tightness of the legal regime, access to co-specialized resources through collaborations, competitive tensions with collaborators, and cumulativeness in influencing the value firms capture from an invention. Our analysis reveals the complementarities and constraints among the building blocks shaping appropriability.