Strategic Patenting in Energy Transition: Incumbent Control of Technological Trajectories
學年 114
學期 2
發表日期 2026-07-31
作品名稱 Strategic Patenting in Energy Transition: Incumbent Control of Technological Trajectories
作品名稱（其他語言）
著者 Wu, Chien-Hsin
作品所屬單位
出版者
會議名稱 86th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management (AOM 2026)
會議地點 Philadelphia, USA
摘要 This study examines how incumbent oil and gas firms strategically deploy intellectual property to shape technological trajectories during the global energy transition. Drawing on theories of profiting from innovation and socio-technical transitions, we conduct a large-scale analysis of 8,737 green patents filed between 2012 and 2024 by the world’s top ten oil companies, using patent portfolio analysis and technology overlap networks to map technological focus and strategic intent. The findings reveal that patenting activity is highly concentrated among a small number of supermajors and focused on technologies closely aligned with existing complementary assets, particularly waste management solutions such as carbon capture and storage and alternative fuels, with a strong emphasis on hydrogen. Rather than signaling a disruptive shift away from the fossil fuel regime, incumbent patent strategies reflect proactive efforts to govern the pace and direction of transition by securing control over foundational technologies and future competitive bottlenecks. We identify distinct strategic patenting archetypes—ranging from offensive leaders that aggressively shape emerging technological domains to defensive incumbents that use patents to protect existing positions, mitigate competitive threats, and delay disruptive entry. Taken together, these patterns point to a pathway of “incumbent-led decarbonization,” extending prior research on incumbent adaptation and regime reconfiguration in socio-technical transitions (Geels, 2002; Berggren et al., 2015). This pathway suggests that oil majors may continue to exert structural influence over emerging low-carbon systems, potentially perpetuating centralized energy infrastructures and creating new technological dependencies. By demonstrating how intellectual property functions as a strategic mechanism for shaping industry transformation, this study contributes to strategic management research on incumbent adaptation and offers critical insights for policymakers and industry strategists seeking to foster a more diverse and competitive green innovation ecosystem.
關鍵字 Strategic patenting; Energy transition; Green patents; Technological trajectories; Incumbent firms; Oil and gas industry; Intellectual property
語言 en_US
收錄於
會議性質 國際
校內研討會地點 無
研討會時間 20260731~20260804
通訊作者 Wu, Chien-Hsin
國別 USA
公開徵稿
出版型式
出處 Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings
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