R&D Collaborations with Common Partners and Knowledge Leakage to Rivals: The Role of IP Litigation

While prior studies have suggested that co-location of R&D activities increases the potential knowledge spillovers between rival firms, we emphasize that knowledge leakage can also occur if firms source knowledge through collaborations with the same organizations. We expect that research organization such as universities and research institutions, with their focus on open science, take up a more powerful role as such intermediaries of knowledge spillovers than firms. Focal firms with a more aggressive patent litigation strategy may be able to restrict knowledge leakage through collaboration partners, but this may be more effective if such partners do not adhere to an open science paradigm. Our findings from patent citation analysis among leading pharmaceutical firms show that the degree to which rival firms have research organizations or firms as common partners is positively associated with inter-firm knowledge outflows. This relationship is significantly weaker for firms with a more aggressive patent litigation strategy – but only when the intermediaries are firms.