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Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 5/2012

01-09-2012 | Original Empirical Research

Marketing control rights and their distribution within technology licensing agreements: a real options perspective

Authors: D. Eric Boyd, Brian P. Brown

Published in: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science | Issue 5/2012

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Abstract

Technology licensing continues to gain popularity as firms seek new sources of revenue from their product development activities. A key decision for the licensor involves whether to distribute marketing control rights associated with licensed technology on a more or less restrictive basis. Drawing on the real options literature, this paper argues that factors related to the top management mindset of the licensor and the marketing capabilities of the licensee impact the licensor’s distribution decision. A logit analysis of 129 technology licensing agreements within the pharmaceutical industry provides strong support for the hypothesized variables and broadens researchers’ understanding of an important marketing decision related to innovation management and the design of inter-firm relationships.
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Footnotes
1
While technology licensing agreement literature is rooted in transaction cost economics (TCE) (Williamson 1991) and is thus reminiscent of classic make-or-buy decisions, this type of framing would be inappropriate due to the distinctions between types of inter-firm relationships, specifically technology licensing agreements and how these agreements are valued. Recently, scholars have taken to categorizing decisions about transferring the production of knowledge and innovation as make-or-ally, which is consistent with our focus on technology licensing agreements between firms, rather than make-or-buy situations (Mudambi and Tallman 2010).
 
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Metadata
Title
Marketing control rights and their distribution within technology licensing agreements: a real options perspective
Authors
D. Eric Boyd
Brian P. Brown
Publication date
01-09-2012
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science / Issue 5/2012
Print ISSN: 0092-0703
Electronic ISSN: 1552-7824
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0262-5

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