Strategy scholars have documented in various empirical settings that firms seek and leverage stronger institutions to mitigate hazards and gain competitive advantage. In this paper, we argue that such “institution-seeking” behavior may not be confined to the pursuit of strong institutions:...

Despite of the rising awareness of the urgency in finding more efficient and effective ways to achieve sustainable development, comprehensive and consistent meaning is still elusive both in theory and practice. The aim of this paper is to create a more structured theoretical framework related to...

There is a research tradition in the economics of standards which addresses standards wars, antitrust concerns or positive externalities from standards. Recent research has also dealt with the process characteristics of standardisation, de facto standard-setting consortia and intellectual...

This paper aims at analysing the risk of intellectual property (IP) infringements by competitors from abroad and in particular whether this risk is higher for international innovating firms. We distinguish three different types of IP infringements from abroad: the usage of firms' technical...

China recently surpassed the USA as the greatest global source of patent applications. However, without internationally comparable measures of patent quality it remains questionable whether China's patent expansion constitutes the rise of a new technological superpower. Our novel quality index...

This paper aims at analysing the risk of intellectual property (IP) infringements by competitors from abroad and in particular whether this risk is higher for international innovating firms. We distinguish three different types of IP infringements from abroad: the usage of firms' technical...

Patents should no longer be granted for DNA, but only for new medicinal products, new vaccines and genetic tests which are developed on the basis of DNA. Only in this way, patent law can gain general acceptance in civil and academic society, without losing sight of the interests of the biotech...

Patent data provide a rich set of information which can be used for comparative studies and trend analysis. The paper presents a systematic overview of the most appropriate tools methodologies that are available for determining the technological specialization of countries. Such analysis...

At a time when the high-tech industry has increasingly demanded harmonized standards, China has signaled its intention to follow a different direction. China's recent actions seeking to set its own unique standards instead of adopting international standards shifts focus to the impact on...