A Cause and Effect Analysis of Intellectual Property Management in Knowledge-based Pharmaceutical Firms in Tehran

Intellectual property management, in the form of generation, protection, and timely exploitation of these assets, plays a vital role in the creation of competitive advantage among the knowledge-based pharmaceutical firms. However, considering the undeniable effects of IP management on the business of these companies, it is not clear to what extent the managers of these firms are aware of the constituents of IP management and the impact of these factors in their process. Therefore the aim of this paper is to identify and review the activities affecting IP management in knowledge-based pharmaceutical firms. For this purpose, the data was gathered using the survey method and through a questionnaire and then analyzed with the DEMATEL technique. The findings identified 2 factors (IP creation and commercialization) as the affecting factors and 3 other factors (IP acquisition, protection, and enforcement) as the affected factors in IP management in knowledge-based pharmaceutical firms. Also, IP commercialization and protection are the most important factors, respectively. Thus, the managers of knowledge-based pharmaceutical firms should pay special attention to these two activities in the process of managing IPs in the organization.