@article{64185f8637b14c82a7f91ec011cff550,
title = "The effect of coordination requirements on sourcing decisions: Evidence from patent prosecution services",
abstract = "Research Summary: Although the link between coordination requirements and vertical integration is theoretically well established, empirical tests of this relationship are hard to implement due to the simultaneous determination of both variables. In this study, we take advantage of regulatory changes in patent prosecution in the United States to provide plausibly causal evidence linking increases in coordination requirements with insourcing. Moreover, we examine the role of plural sourcing, that is, simultaneously making and buying, when responding to changes in coordination requirements. We find that the move toward insourcing is more pronounced for plural-sourcing firms as compared to firms relying on outsourcing. These results are consistent with the view that plural sourcing provides firms with flexibility to switch between sourcing modes when facing changing coordination requirements. Managerial Summary: We study the sourcing of patent prosecution services in large innovative companies and show that in-house production is more beneficial when coordination requirements between inventors and attorneys increase. Importantly, we find that plural-sourcing firms, that is, firms that work with both internal attorneys and external law firms, are more likely to respond to these increases and move toward insourcing as compared to firms relying only on outsourcing. This suggests that plural sourcing can be regarded as a strategic investment in sourcing flexibility, allowing firms to respond to changing coordination requirements. This is an adaptive capability which is especially useful in knowledge-intensive sectors.",
keywords = "AIPA, coordination, patent prosecution, plural sourcing, vertical integration",
author = "George Chondrakis and Eduardo Melero and Mari Sako",
note = "Funding Information: Comunidad de Madrid, Grant/Award Number: EPUC3M12; Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Grant/Award Numbers: PGC2018‐098767‐B‐C21, PGC2018‐098610‐B‐I00 Funding information Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful guidance and suggestions throughout the review process. The authors also thank Matthew Amengual, Stefano Barufaldi, Aoife Brophy Haney, Sarah Bruhs, Thomas Cotter, Richard Cuthbertson, Hans Frankfort, Thorbjorn Knudsen, Tom Lawrence, Akshay Mangla, Neus Palomeras, David Wehrheim as well as seminar audiences at the University of Southern Denmark, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Cass Business School, ESADE, 2019 DRUID Conference, the 2019 SEI junior faculty workshop, the 2019 Madrid Work and Organizations Workshop, and the 2021 London Business School Sumantra Ghoshal Conference for useful comments and suggestions. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research from ESADE Business School, Comunidad de Madrid (project EPUC3M12) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through projects, PGC2018‐098767‐B‐C21 and PGC2018‐098610‐B‐I00 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE). Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their extremely helpful guidance and suggestions throughout the review process. The authors also thank Matthew Amengual, Stefano Barufaldi, Aoife Brophy Haney, Sarah Bruhs, Thomas Cotter, Richard Cuthbertson, Hans Frankfort, Thorbjorn Knudsen, Tom Lawrence, Akshay Mangla, Neus Palomeras, David Wehrheim as well as seminar audiences at the University of Southern Denmark, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Cass Business School, ESADE, 2019 DRUID Conference, the 2019 SEI junior faculty workshop, the 2019 Madrid Work and Organizations Workshop, and the 2021 London Business School Sumantra Ghoshal Conference for useful comments and suggestions. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this research from ESADE Business School, Comunidad de Madrid (project EPUC3M12) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through projects, PGC2018-098767-B-C21 and PGC2018-098610-B-I00 (MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",
year = "2022",
month = jun,
doi = "10.1002/smj.3359",
language = "English",
volume = "43",
pages = "1141--1169",
journal = "Strategic Management Journal",
issn = "0143-2095",
publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Ltd",
number = "6",
}