Knowledge appropriability and competitive advantage

While praising the act of sharing, knowledge management does not ignore the importance of the type of knowledge that is proprietary and increases the power of the product/service or process that contains that knowledge. When the knowledge appropriability level is high, it is difficult to be replicated or imitated. The benefit created by the knowledge lasts longer.

Knowledge appropriabiity is due to the very nature of the knowledge. It can also be the result of patent or copyright protection. The legal mechanism is necessary in order to provide incentive for knowledge workers to pursue innovative activities. It is clear that intellectual property right protection can hamper further innovation. From the government policy point of view, the key is to find the balance between too much and not enough.