Impact of reabsorption on patent value focusing on knowledge similarity

Abstract

Effective utilization of external knowledge is important for innovation creation. Recently, the concept of reabsorption, where an originating firm reabsorbs its spilled knowledge, including the advancements made by recipient firms, has attracted attention. Although existing studies analyzed the impact of reabsorption on the number of patents, the impact of reabsorption on patent value is not sufficiently clear. In addition, the impact seems to depend on reabsorbing what kind of knowledge. Therefore, this study attempts to clarify the impact of reabsorption on patent value focusing on knowledge similarity.