Wang and Sun (2018)

Source Details

Wang and Sun (2018)
Title:	Exploring Chinese Design Business Owners’ Attitudes towards Intellectual Property Rights
Author(s):	Wang, Q., Sun, X.
Year:	2018
Citation:	Wang, Q and Sun, X (2018) Exploring Chinese Design Business Owners’ Attitudes towards Intellectual Property Rights. International Journal of Innovation Management, November 2018.
Link(s):	Open Access
Key Related Studies:	Kwong et al (2003) Massey (2006) Wee (2011)
Discipline:	O34: Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
Linked by:

About the Data
Data Description:	The authors distributed survey questionnaires to 694 industrial design business owners in China (divided as evenly as possible across different regions), with 358 usable responses returned. Confucian virtues (being benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness) were used as a means of measurement to determine how influential traditional Chinese values were on business owners.
Data Type:	Primary data
Secondary Data Sources:
Data Collection Methods:	Survey Research (quantitative; e.g. sales/income reporting)
Data Analysis Methods:	Descriptive statistics (counting; means reporting; cross-tabulation) Structural Equation Modeling
Industry(ies):	Specialised design
Country(ies):	China
Cross Country Study?:	No
Comparative Study?:	No
Literature review?:	No
Government or policy study?:	No
Time Period(s) of Collection:
Funder(s):	National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 71401085)

Abstract

“As Intellectual Property (IP) protection can nurture innovation, and since innovation is one of the critical sources of economic growth, this has become especially important since China surpassed a certain economic development stage, because China now has a growing number of its own innovations which need to be protected. This paper describes the construction of a new research model with which to explore and examine the impact of potential factors on attitudes towards Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in China in the context of the creative design industry. The findings of a quantitative study of Chinese design business owners reveal the significant roles of Confucianism, perceived economic loss and perceived effectiveness of IPR law enforcement in shaping their attitudes towards IPR. Our findings support the idea that promoting Confucianism can help to develop an internalized respect for IPR, while sizable penalties for IPR infringement can enhance the effectiveness of IPR protection.”

Main Results of the Study

Chinese business owners with stronger beliefs in the key virtues of Confucianism (being benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faithfulness) favour stricter protection of intellectual property rights than those whose beliefs are less entrenched (p = 0.011). According to the authors, Confucianism promotes the respect of other people’s work, as well as a higher standard of work ethics and moral conduct; as such, these virtues are in line with the desire to respect and protect others’ creative content.Perceptions of economic loss are more likely to have a negative effect on attitudes towards intellectual property rights where a business owner is not entrenched in the values of Confucianism (and ergo, Confucianism may mitigate the effects of this). Similarly, perceptions of the effectiveness of law enforcement are more apparent in those who adhere to Confucianism, as their values are more likely to support governmental goals (and moral values for wider society).

Policy Implications as Stated By Author

The study suggests that Confucianism is not a valid explanatory factor in the seeming rejection of more “western” intellectual property rights in China; instead, the values of Confucianism promote and attitude which is more accepting of strict rights protection. This may inform an ethical approach which promotes a code of conduct in businesses, and as such should be promoted by local and central governments (as opposed to introducing legal reform which is unlikely to challenge people’s ethical behaviour).Perceived economic losses as a result of complying with intellectual property rights are correlated with most negative attitudes towards their protection; as such, the authors call for a better “balance” of the interests of the public and business owners.Whilst effective law enforcement may vary drastically across Chinese regions (being a vast geographical landscape), the authors call for closer coordination between central and local governments to address discrepancies (and may include the introduction of e.g. standard codes of conduct, and external monitoring systems for misconduct).

Coverage of Study

Coverage of Fundamental Issues

Issue	Included within Study
Relationship between protection (subject matter/term/scope) and supply/economic development/growth/welfare
Relationship between creative process and protection - what motivates creators (e.g. attribution; control; remuneration; time allocation)?
Harmony of interest assumption between authors and publishers (creators and producers/investors)
Effects of protection on industry structure (e.g. oligopolies; competition; economics of superstars; business models; technology adoption)
Understanding consumption/use (e.g. determinants of unlawful behaviour; user-generated content; social media)

Coverage of Evidence Based Policies

Issue	Included within Study
Nature and Scope of exclusive rights (hyperlinking/browsing; reproduction right)
Exceptions (distinguish innovation and public policy purposes; open-ended/closed list; commercial/non-commercial distinction)
Mass digitisation/orphan works (non-use; extended collective licensing)
Licensing and Business models (collecting societies; meta data; exchanges/hubs; windowing; crossborder availability)
Fair remuneration (levies; copyright contracts)
Enforcement (quantifying infringement; criminal sanctions; intermediary liability; graduated response; litigation and court data; commercial/non-commercial distinction; education and awareness)

Datasets

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