Economics - Theses
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ItemCapturing the gains from innovation: assessing the effectiveness of appropriation mechanisms( 2004)This dissertation examines the effectiveness of appropriation mechanisms in preventing imitation, and enabling a firm to capture the returns from their innovation activities. A theoretical framework, founded primarily in the resource-based literature, is developed within which the effectiveness of appropriation mechanisms are explored. In this framework, first, the characteristics of appropriation mechanisms themselves are seen as inhibiting imitation, and second, other antecedent and contextual factors are contended to influence the effectiveness of appropriation. Multiple research methods are employed to investigate the research questions of interest. Quantitative data gathered from 238 large Australian organisations are used to construct a structural equation model (SEM) examining the hypothesised model relating a dynamic innovation capability, performance outcomes and the moderating effect of appropriation mechanisms. Further, antecedents of appropriation mechanism effectiveness, internal and external learning, is explored. Qualitative data obtained from six case studies across a number of industries are used to consolidate and elaborate on the extent to which the hypothesised model is supported or challenged, and provide some evidence of various other contextual factors that may influence the effectiveness of barriers to imitation. The data were consistent in their support for the hypothesised model. A dynamic innovation capability, as expected, was found to be significantly and positively associated with improved innovation and business performance. Further, appropriation mechanisms were found to have significant moderating effects on this relation, largely attributable to their socially complex, causally ambiguous and interdependent characteristics. Learning sources, both internal and external, also play an important antecedent role in appropriation effectiveness, along with contextual factors such as competitor response time, the nature of the innovation, and the type of industry. Overall, appropriation mechanisms are effective in protecting a firm's innovation from imitation, and enhance a firm's ability to capture the gains from their dynamic innovation capability.