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The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Managing Intellectual Property in Kenya: A Case of Gifted Hands

Received: 1 November 2013     Published: 20 November 2013
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Abstract

Intellectual property delivers core competencies, which fuels long-term sustainable competitive advantage. This study sought to determine the role of SME’s in managing intellectual property in Kenya. The study was done on one organization to allow an in-depth analysis. To achieve the main objective of this study, the study was guided by four specific objectives including the determination of how Small and Medium Enterprises create awareness on intellectual property management in Kenya; establishing the extent to which Small and Medium Enterprises fund intellectual property management in Kenya; determining how Small and Medium Enterprises assist the government in formulating policies on intellectual property management in Kenya and establishing the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises to innovation and inventions in Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive survey. Descriptive research design was chosen because it enabled the researcher to generalise the findings to a larger population. The population of this study comprised the employees at Gifted Hands Limited. From study findings, the study concludes that community workshops should be held to raise awareness of the economic importance of intellectual property and to increase stakeholders’ participation in the intellectual property policy making process. Further the study concludes that to be acceptable, any system of intellectual property rights has to strike a balance on the one hand, between providing incentives and rewards to the rights holder and on the other hand facilitate access to, and widespread diffusion and adoption of the fruits of creativity and innovation. Finally, in order for a firm to effectively manage its intellectual property it needs to establish a comprehensive policy which will provide guidelines on how to handle intellectual property and that the costs of patenting are generally perceived as one of the greatest barriers for SME.

Published in Science Journal of Business and Management (Volume 1, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13
Page(s) 74-80
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Role of Small and Medium Enterprises, Gifted hands, Intellectual Property, Creativity and Innovation, Kenya

References
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[3] Bainbridge, D. (2009). Intellectual Property (7th Ed.). Harlow, London: Pearson Longman
[4] Blackburn, R. (2010). Intellectual Property and Innovation Management in Small Firms. London; Routledge
[5] Bosworth, D., and Webster, E. (2006).The Management of Intellectual Property. Cheltenham: Edward Elger Publishers Business Administration
[6] Cohen W., et.al (2000), Protecting their Intellectual Assets: appropriability Conditions and Why U.S. Manufacturing Firms Patent (or Not), NBER Working Paper 7552
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[11] Finney, R. Z., Campbell, N. D., and Powell, C.M., (2004). Strategies and Resources: Pathways to Success. Journal of Resources Research, 11, 1-15.
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[14] Grindley, P., & Teece, D. (1997). Managing Intellectual Capital: Licensing and Cross-Licensing in Semiconductors and Electronics. California: Graduate School of Business Administration, University of California
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[20] Kiberenge, K. (2010). Students Take Fight to Mobile Company Over Invention. The Standard. Retrieved from www.standardmedia.co.ke on 20th November, 2012.
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[23] Maskus, K. E. (2000). Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy, Washington, DC: Institute for International Economics
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    JOB BOITT NGETICH. (2013). The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Managing Intellectual Property in Kenya: A Case of Gifted Hands. Science Journal of Business and Management, 1(4), 74-80. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13

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    ACS Style

    JOB BOITT NGETICH. The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Managing Intellectual Property in Kenya: A Case of Gifted Hands. Sci. J. Bus. Manag. 2013, 1(4), 74-80. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13

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    AMA Style

    JOB BOITT NGETICH. The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Managing Intellectual Property in Kenya: A Case of Gifted Hands. Sci J Bus Manag. 2013;1(4):74-80. doi: 10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13,
      author = {JOB BOITT NGETICH},
      title = {The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Managing Intellectual Property in Kenya: A Case of Gifted Hands},
      journal = {Science Journal of Business and Management},
      volume = {1},
      number = {4},
      pages = {74-80},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjbm.20130104.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjbm.20130104.13},
      abstract = {Intellectual property delivers core competencies, which fuels long-term sustainable competitive advantage. This study sought to determine the role of SME’s in managing intellectual property in Kenya. The study was done on one organization to allow an in-depth analysis. To achieve the main objective of this study, the study was guided by four specific objectives including the determination of how Small and Medium Enterprises  create awareness on intellectual property management in Kenya; establishing the extent to which Small and Medium Enterprises  fund intellectual property management in Kenya; determining how Small and Medium Enterprises  assist the government in formulating policies on intellectual property management in Kenya and establishing the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises  to innovation and inventions in Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive survey.  Descriptive research design was chosen because it enabled the researcher to generalise the findings to a larger population. The population of this study comprised the employees at Gifted Hands Limited. From study findings, the study concludes that community workshops should be held to raise awareness of the economic importance of intellectual property and to increase stakeholders’ participation in the intellectual property policy making process. Further the study concludes that to be acceptable, any system of intellectual property rights has to strike a balance on the one hand, between providing incentives and rewards to the rights holder and on the other hand facilitate access to, and widespread diffusion and adoption of the fruits of creativity and innovation. Finally, in order for a firm to effectively manage its intellectual property it needs to establish a comprehensive policy which will provide guidelines on how to handle intellectual property and that the costs of patenting are generally perceived as one of the greatest barriers for SME.},
     year = {2013}
    }
    

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    AU  - JOB BOITT NGETICH
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    AB  - Intellectual property delivers core competencies, which fuels long-term sustainable competitive advantage. This study sought to determine the role of SME’s in managing intellectual property in Kenya. The study was done on one organization to allow an in-depth analysis. To achieve the main objective of this study, the study was guided by four specific objectives including the determination of how Small and Medium Enterprises  create awareness on intellectual property management in Kenya; establishing the extent to which Small and Medium Enterprises  fund intellectual property management in Kenya; determining how Small and Medium Enterprises  assist the government in formulating policies on intellectual property management in Kenya and establishing the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises  to innovation and inventions in Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive survey.  Descriptive research design was chosen because it enabled the researcher to generalise the findings to a larger population. The population of this study comprised the employees at Gifted Hands Limited. From study findings, the study concludes that community workshops should be held to raise awareness of the economic importance of intellectual property and to increase stakeholders’ participation in the intellectual property policy making process. Further the study concludes that to be acceptable, any system of intellectual property rights has to strike a balance on the one hand, between providing incentives and rewards to the rights holder and on the other hand facilitate access to, and widespread diffusion and adoption of the fruits of creativity and innovation. Finally, in order for a firm to effectively manage its intellectual property it needs to establish a comprehensive policy which will provide guidelines on how to handle intellectual property and that the costs of patenting are generally perceived as one of the greatest barriers for SME.
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Author Information
  • Msc. Entrepreneurship, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya

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