Over the last few years, worldwide mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have increasedsharply both in terms of value and volume. This development has not only beendriven by corporate acquirers but also to an increasing extent by private equityinvestors. In this paper, we analyze differences in...

This paper analyses whether strategic motives for patenting influence the characteristics ofcompanies’ patent portfolios. We use the number of citations and oppositions to representthese characteristics. The investigation is based on survey and patent data from German companies.We find clear...

Theoretical considerations suggest that secrecy reduces spillovers almost completely through non-disclosure, while the disclosure requirement of patents generates some spillover and at the same time allows firms to appropriate knowledge. In this paper we empirically analyze whether protection by...

Die hohe Beteiligung an Innovationsaktivitäten und der weiterhin hohe wirtschaftliche Erfolg, den Innovatoren aus der Einführung neuer Produkte und Prozesse - gerade auch auf internationalen Märkten - erzielen können, zeigt, dass das deutsche Innovationssystem insgesamt wettbewerbsfähig...