Firm management of scientific information: Some predictors and implications of openness versus secrecy

This paper presents a model that seeks to understand and explain R&D performance differences in research‐intensive companies. The primary theoretical model builds on the well‐established theory of science as a public good but augments it with a game‐theoretic argument for individual firm choices of scientific information openness or secrecy. The first research question we address is how a firm's scientific information openness, as measured by its research publications, impacts the firm's stock of technical knowledge. Additionally, we explore two predictor variables of scientific information openness: research lab and top management team demographics. The possible economic effects and other managerial implications of this model are also discussed. 1995 Basil Blackwell Ltd