The Impact of a IP-dedicated Organization on Corporate Performance: Focusing on Managers' Perception of the Importance of Intellectual Property

This study empirically analyzed the impact of having an IP-dedicated organization on firm performance and examined the moderating effect of managers’ perceptions of the importance of IP in this relationship. While previous research has often addressed IP organizations and managerial perceptions separately, this study distinguishes itself by integrating the two factors and comparing differences across industries. A survey was conducted among domestic firms, yielding 276 valid responses. The questionnaire included items on the presence of an IP-dedicated organization, five measures of managerial perceptions of IP importance, sales revenue, and control variables such as firm age, number of employees, and industry classification. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the relationships among variables, and the robustness of the results was confirmed by applying the same model to subsamples divided into manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. The results show, first, that an IP-dedicated organization has a significant positive effect on firm performance. Second, managerial perceptions of IP importance were not significant in their direct effect on performance. Third, the interaction term between an IP-dedicated organization and managerial perceptions was negative. This pattern was more pronounced in the manufacturing sector, while generalization to the non-manufacturing sector was limited due to sample size and industry characteristics. By jointly analyzing structural factors (IP-dedicated organization) and human factors (managerial perceptions), this study broadens the understanding of IP management performance and highlights the need for tailored IP strategies aligned with industry characteristics as well as clear role delineation between organizational structures and leadership.