Science Research Management ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (8): 60-71.

Previous Articles     Next Articles

A research on the evolution of intellectual property governance pattern in enterprise clusters

 Li Tuoyu1,Wei Jiang2, Hua Zhongsheng2, Tong Zulong3   

  1.  1. College of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China; 
    2. School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang, China;
    3. Science and Technology Bureau, Tonglu County, Tonglu 311500, Zhejiang, China
  • Received:2017-09-13 Revised:2018-03-21 Online:2020-08-20 Published:2020-08-19
  • Supported by:
     

Abstract:

 At present, relevant studies on Intellectual Property Governance are mainly focused on the view of appropriability, and the influence mechanism of Intellectual Property Governance is investigated from three aspects: isolation mechanism, appropriability regime and PFI. In cluster context, the proximity of network and the liquidity of innovation elements lead to the inefficacy of traditional Intellectual Property Governance on avoid the "free-rider", technology imitation, plagiarism infringing and such opportunism behavior, which also lead to the Intellectual Property Governance issues at the cluster level differences. The new technology, new equipment, new samples come out soon, competitors can occupy the market through simple imitation, reverse engineering methods with low cost. Enterprises that actually implement innovation investment and carry out innovation activities will not only fail to get the profit from innovation, but will even be squeezed out of the market by imitators. It is difficult for enterprises to maintain their enthusiasm for innovation, so it becomes a good choice for them to abandon innovation and imitate. In order to solve this problem, some cluster enterprises and related governance institutions have been trying to construct and implement in line with the construction of formal and informal Intellectual Property Governance, such as "the alliance convention on Intellectual Property Governance of Tonglu Pen Industry Cluster" "the safeguarding rights convention on Intellectual Property Governance of Wenzhou Smoking Set Industry" and so on, which effectively supplement lack of national property rights regime, effectively regulate the productive and innovative behavior of enterprise. 
Some papers also find that when laws fail to effectively protect property rights, the governance subject of Intellectual Property will be extended from innovator to alliance, community and third-party institutions, etc., and the institutional arrangement of Intellectual Property governance will also be extended from judicial regulation to a set of formal or informal institutional arrangement with cluster field characteristics. So where did these institutions come from? How did it evolve? Previous studies of institutional theory focused on the role of subject behavior on the formation and evolution of field, and recently began to pay attention to the role of collective behavior at the meso-level on field system. However, these studies and practical explorations are still relatively scattered, and further theoretical and structural discussions are needed. 
To explore the form and evolution of Intellectual Property Governance pattern in cluster field, this paper chooses Tonglu Writing Instrument Cluster as the research object, conducts exploratory case study and draws three conclusions based on the institutional theory. First, In the industrial cluster, due to the high degree proximity among the peers, the defect site of the "property protection" leads to the weak innovation of the cluster enterprises; Second, Innovative enterprises redefine and strength the boundary of the institutional field through the "horizontal", "vertical" and other institutional entrepreneurship strategy, promoting the Evolution of Cluster Intellectual Property Governance Patterns; Third, Based on dynamic perspective, The formation, growth and development of The Cluster Intellectual Property Governance Pattern such as Law-based Appropriability Pattern, Norm-based Community Self-discipline Pattern and Multi-governance Pattern based on muti-institution do not always follow the same path, which will evolve by way of spontaneous or artificial. 
This study attempts to make the following marginal contribution: First, based on the perspective of legitimacy, this research constructs the Intellectual Property Governance model in cluster field, which also provides a new theoretical perspective and explores the new means for Intellectual Property governance. Second, based on the evolutionary perspective, this research deeps the institutional entrepreneurship research, delineates the dynamic evolution of Intellectual Property Governance model, and put forward the new architecture of PFI logic.

 

Key words: industrial cluster, intellectual property governance pattern, institutional entrepreneurship, evolutionary process

CLC Number: