Patent Portfolio Analysis a Negotiation Tool : a case study in the automotive industry

Sammanfattning: The automotive industry with its highly competitive environment together with high research and development costs is struggling to increase shareholder return. Cross-functional teams are employed to source suppliers which are helping to reduce production and development costs in close cooperation with the other departments. When working in a competitive environment and with external actors, intellectual property becomes increasingly important and organizational effort is directed to increase the generation and usage of such. Patent portfolio analysis is a well-known tool used to extract information from surrounding actors’ patents, which traditionally mainly was used for product development, but has potential to increase gross profit through cross-functional sourcing teams as well.  The purpose of this study is to investigate how to implement and use patent portfolio analysis as a cross-functional tool in the automotive industry. In order to fulfill the purpose, a qualitative case study has been conducted including both qualitative interviews, as well as action research in the form of workshops at the case company. The results were analyzed using a tailored framework denominated the system integration model which is a combination of the technology acceptance model and the managing strategy framework. The systems integration model was developed and validated by the researchers during the research process. The research result shows that patent portfolio analysis has a high perceived usefulness but a low actual system use within the studied company, especially in the sourcing department. The main barrier to use patent portfolio analysis cross-functionally was that the intellectual property strategy was not yet fully communicated and linked to the different departments’ objectives. There were also barriers found in the communication between- and the understanding of- each other’s departments, which could be reduced by increased education and promoting clear contact points and guidelines. The final conclusion of this research was that patent portfolio analysis likely could be used cross functionally to map the competitive landscape and increase gross profit by protection innovations through product development and sourcing.