The changing role of IP. A case study of open innovation in automotive
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Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Entrepreneurship and business design (MPBDP), MSc
Publicerad
2020
Författare
Dahl, Erik
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
Firms are turning the focus from production equipment and machines to management of
information and knowledge, with the entrance into the fourth industrial revolution. This
evolution poses new types of challenges, but also provides opportunities. In combination with
this paradigm shift, many industries are experiencing converging technologies with ICT
companies entering into new application areas. This has been especially evident in the
automotive industry. One strategy is to collaborate with these new actors through open
innovation. However, the capability to manage and trade knowledge is less established at the
OEMs. That is why this capability needs to be developed. The IP function is already used to
work with intangible assets and might play a central part in this transformation.
This study aimed to understand the role of IP management in projects where an OEM
incorporates an innovative technology by collaborating with an external actor. This was done
through a multiple case study of two collaboration projects at Polestar, with data from 12
interviews and project documents. The two case studies were very different, which highlights
the need to adapt the IP management to the specific conditions of each project. However, the
result showed that one of the main objectives of IP management was to assemble the parties
resources and construct a framework that allocates the project results. This role is explored in
the literature, while the results from this study provide an additional perspective on how IP
management can be adapted to fast-paced environments and start-ups with limited time and
resources. One of the main findings was that a cross-functional team consisting of IP,
business and technology expertise would manage any IP at the time it is created in the
project. By agreeing on the basic principles for allocating IP results, at the start of the project,
some elements of the IP management can be pushed to the future. This setup allocates the
team’s time and resources to the projects generating the most IP.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
IP management , Open innovation , Collaboration , R&D , Patent , Automotive