Abstract

How can a firm continue the appropriation success of an innovation, confronted with challenges such as expiring patents and changing environments? Seeking answers to this question, this study investigates and compares Bayer’s two innovations, Aspirin medicine and Roundup herbicide. Whereas for the first, appropriation success has been continued through decades, for the latter, such a continuum has not been realized as expected. Our findings suggest that the continuing appropriation success lies in diligently and interactively adjusting the appropriation strategy with attention paid to the shifting appropriability conditions. This adjustment requires a firm to identify the most substantial appropriability premises for innovation in different situations, recognizing that isolating appropriability mechanisms and complementary assets can have varied and distinctive implications depending on the pertinent contextual factors.