| Firms divide their limited resources and attention between two fundamental processes of creating value (innovating, producing and delivering products to the market) and appropriating value (extracting profits in the marketplace). While both value creation and value appropriation capabilities are required for achieving sustained competitive advantage, a firm has significant latitude in deciding the extent to which it emphasizes one set of capabilities as opposed to the other. Most companies strive to choose a strategy that balances sufficient support for value creation efforts with adequate investments in value appropriation capabilities. Yet, differences in strategic emphasis exist among firms and firms change their emphasis over time. What implications do shifts in emphasis between value creation and value appropriation have for firm financial performance?; To answer this question, I develop an indicator of strategic emphasis that a firm places on value appropriation compared to value creation and assess the effect that changes in the measure have on stock return. I examine the extent to which this effect is moderated by firm financial situation, past strategic choices made by the firm, the effectiveness of patent protection, and the technological environment the firm operates in.; I find that increases in emphasis toward value appropriation and away from value creation are associated with increases in stock return. This effect is particularly strong when a firm has better than expected earnings. Conditions exist, however, where the financial markets view increases in value appropriation capability negatively. For example, when a firm is not doing well financially, or is operating in stable technology markets and already is highly emphasizing value appropriation, the financial markets respond negatively to increasing emphasis on value appropriation capabilities.; These results do not negate the importance of value creation in influencing firm value but rather highlight the importance of isolating mechanisms that allow the firm to appropriate some of the value that it has created. Value creation investment decisions cannot be divorced from issues of appropriability. Firms that fail to pay sufficient attention to value appropriation cannot be expected to achieve sustained competitive advantage and reap the rewards from their value creation capabilities. |
