Impact of Intellectual Property Rights on the Governance Mode Decisions of Engineering Managers During the Establishment of Research Alliances With Publicly Funded Entities

Abstract

Strengthening intellectual property rights for publicly financed research and development (R&D) ensures that research organizations maximize the full national value of the intellectual property that they generate, but potential negative spillover effects on the perceived value of a research alliance might deter an existing alliance partner from continued collaboration or a potential alliance partner from future collaboration. This study, performed in 2010 within the context of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, aimed to develop a structural equation modeling-based value-mediation governance decision-making model that will enable engineering managers at publicly financed R&D organizations to select optimal governance modes for the research alliances they are establishing to grow their organizations’ R&D capabilities.

Keywords:

• Intellectual Property Rights
• Research Alliances
• Structural Equation Modeling
• Value-Mediation Governance

EMJ Focus Areas:

• Decision Making & Risk Management: Economics of Engineering
• Strategic Management

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leonard Staphorst

Leonard Staphorst is the Head of the South African Research Network at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. He holds B.Eng (Electronic), M.Eng (Electronic), and MBA degrees from the University of Pretoria. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa, a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute in the United Kingdom, a Fellow Member of the South African Institute for Electrical Engineering, and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. His past experience includes roles as Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria in the area of telecommunications, Acting Manager of the Motorola Cellular Training Institute, Customer Solutions Manager at Nokia Siemens Networks, as well as Principal Researcher in radar theory and applications and Research Group Leader for the Experimental Electronic Warfare Systems group at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Mike Holland

Mike Holland is the Director of Research at PriceMetrics, as well as an Adjunct Faculty Lecturer in economics at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria. He holds a B.Sc (Econ) Hons degree from the University of London and a M.Sc (Administrative Science) from the City University, London. He is a consulting economist to attorneys and private and public sector companies in South Africa specializing in competition policy, regulatory economics, and price management. His past experience includes roles as Head of Research and Development in the treasuries of Rand Merchant Bank and First National Bank, Dean of the Rand Merchant Bank Academy, Financial Planning Manager for First National Bank and Barclays National Bank, Financial Planning Manager for a United Kingdom conglomerate, and as an economist in the United Kingdom motor industry.

Leon Pretorius

Leon Pretorius is a Professor in Technology Management at the Graduate School of Technology Management of the University of Pretoria and a rated researcher at the National Research Foundation. He holds B.Sc Eng (Mechanical Engineering), B.Sc Eng Hons (Mechanical Engineering), M.Sc Eng (Mechanical Engineering), B.Sc Hons (Math), M.Sc (Math), and D.Eng degrees from the University of Pretoria. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa, an Honorary Fellow of the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineering, a Member of the South African Institute for Industrial Engineering, a Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and a Member of INCOSE. He has more than 38 years professional, engineering, academic, and academic management experience and has supervised more than 235 Master and PhD students, as well as published more than 245 peer reviewed conference papers and journal articles.

Marthinus Willem Pretorius

Marthinus Willem Pretorius is a Professor in Technology Management at the Graduate School of Technology Management of the University of Pretoria and a rated researcher at the National Research Foundation. He holds M.Eng (Engineering Management) and D.Eng degrees from the University of Pretoria. He is a registered Professional Engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa, a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and serves on the boards of the International Association for the Management of Technology and the International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management. He has more than 35 years professional, engineering, academic, and management experience, with 19 years spent in the energy, defence, and automotive industries prior to joining the University of Pretoria on a full-time basis.