Antecedents of selective revealing: An empirical study in non-OSS environments

Markus Deimel

Institute for Strategy, Technology and Organization

Professor Christopher Lettl

Vienna University of Economics and Business

An example of selective revealing in non-Open Source Software (non-OSS) environments

On 12 June this year Tesla (2014) announced the free licensing of its

patents to anyone in good faith in order to advance the market for

electric cars.

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING

What firm-specific factors influence the likelihood to engage

in the selective revealing of knowledge?

Research question

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING

Selective revealing and current literature

Selective revealing (Henkel 2006, Alexy et al. 2013)

extends the established literature on knowledge flows, e.g.

Collective invention (Allen 1983, Nuvolari 2004)

Cumulative invention (Scotchmer 1991)

Free revealing / private - collective invention (von Hippel 1987, von

Hippel & von Krogh 2003, Alexy 2008)

Voluntary knowledge-spillovers (Harhoff et al. 2003)

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING

OSS is only one of many industries in the economy

Operationalisation of propositions stated in Alexy et al.

(2013)

Difference in the development process of software and

other industries

Researching a Non- Open Source Software environment

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING

Feedback and questions welcome:

Relevance of the research question

Theoretical underpinnings

Ideas for research design

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING

Alexy, O., George, G., & Salter, A. J. (2013). Cui Bono? The Selective Revealing of Knowledge and Its Implications for Innovative Activity. Academy of Management Review, 38(2), 270–291. doi:10.5465/amr.2011.0193

Allen, R. C. (1983). COLLECTIVE INVENTION. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 4(1), 1–24. doi:10.1016/0167-2681(83)90023-9

Harhoff, D., Henkel, J., & von Hippel, E. (2003). Profiting from voluntary information spillovers: how users benefit by freely revealing their innovations. Research Policy, 32(10), 1753–1769. doi:10.1016/s0048-7333(03)00061-1

Henkel, J. (2006). Selective revealing in open innovation processes: The case of embedded Linux. Research Policy, 35(7), 953–969. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2006.04.010

Nuvolari, A. (2004). Collective invention during the British Industrial Revolution: the case of the Cornish pumping engine. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 28(3), 347–363.

Scotchmer, S. (1991). Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Cumulative Research and the Patent Law. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 29–41. doi:10.1257/jep.5.1.29

Von Hippel, E. (1987). COOPERATION BETWEEN RIVALS - INFORMAL KNOW-HOW TRADING. Research Policy, 16(6), 291–302. doi:10.1016/0048-7333(87)90015-1

Von Hippel, E., & von Krogh, G. (2003). Open source software and the “private-collective” innovation model: Issues for organization science. Organization Science, 14(2), 209–223. Retrieved from <Go to ISI>://WOS:000182437400009

Sources

MARKUS DEIMEL│ ANTECEDENTS OF SELECTIVE REVEALING