Ownership seems straightforward in business: Get a patent or copyright when you create something. Charge for its use. Avoid ambiguity about who owns what.
Elon Musk Doesn’t Care About Patents. Should You?
Today’s most successful companies are rethinking traditional notions of ownership.
March 04, 2021
HBR Staff;
BRITTA PEDERSEN/Getty Images; National Archives
Summary.
Businesses spend a fortune on traditional engineering, tweaking every button and knob. But today’s most successful companies are also skilled at ownership engineering, or creating value by managing how products and services are owned. The authors outline three of the most successful — and least known — ownership engineering strategies: 1) Tolerating theft, which can be a customer-acquisition strategy; 2) Foregoing ownership, or knowing when to deploy substitute strategies for legal ownership, such as secrecy or first-mover advantage; and 3) Leaning into ambiguity, or seizing opportunities when legalities around ownership are unclear.
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HBR Learning
Strategy Planning and Execution Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Strategy Planning and Execution. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
How to develop a winning strategy—and put it to work.