Organizations engage in search when they innovate. Search is typically performed by multiple group members who are knowledgeable about parts of the search problem, but rarely understand all decision variables. Search theory has shown that team members therefore need to coordinate their work....

We study the implementation of operations strategy at six German manufacturers in mature businesses. Search theory argues that vertical coordination (i.e., unilateral top-down adjustment of lower-level search actions) balances stability against the improvement potential enabled by frontline...

Which, if any, of a firm’s inventions should it patent? Should it patent at all? Many companies engaged in an innovation race seek a patenting strategy that balances protection of their intellectual property against the knowledge spillovers resulting from disclosure requirements. Not much is...