Cross-country creativity and knowledge flows of patent acquisitions: drivers and implications for managers and policy-makers

This study aims at mining cross-country creativity/knowledge flows of patented blockchain applications – and their technological trajectories – through patent citation networks. It tests – through logit models – whether current patent owners have benefited from patent acquisitions from abroad (“learning-by-acquisition”). More than 50,000,000 patents granted within 2008–2018 were considered. Findings prove that: (a) cross-country patent acquisitions boost creativity and knowledge; (b) pros of cross-country learning are two-pronged: micro- and macroeconomic ones; (c) both policy makers and managers should aim at acquiring patents from abroad depending on drivers like patent age and patent citations.