Towards the development of scales to measure patent management

This article aims to propose measurement scales for patent management seen as a macro-process made up of different sub-processes, where activities are carried out, having the firm as our unit of analysis. To this purpose, we followed a recommended six-step methodological approach for new scale development and validation widely recognized in the literature, and specifically this article focused on the first two steps (i.e. specify domain of construct and item generation) for which both a theoretical analysis, through an in-depth literature review, and a qualitative analysis, through interviews, were conducted. The analysis of the literature and the interviews with experts allowed us to develop a measurement framework of patent management by identifying four core processes, namely patent generation, patent portfolio management, patent exploitation and enforcement and patent intelligence, and two supporting dimensions, namely strategy and organization. Beyond that, we categorised activities within each core process and organizational aspects within each supporting dimension with associated measurement items. The findings have both managerial and theoretical implications. For managers, the current article offers a clear conceptualization and measurement scales that can be used as an assessment tool to evaluate firm patent management. Beyond that, future research can benefit from a solid foundation to extend our knowledge of patent management still further by having measurement items at disposal.