A Novel Method for Visually Mapping Intellectual Property Risks and Uncertainties in Evolving Innovation Ecosystems: A Design Science Research Approach for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Prior management science literature proposes different visual methods for mapping ecosystems. These methods, however, largely lack an effective approach to visualizing intellectual property (IP) related risks and uncertainties appearing among stakeholders as the innovation ecosystem evolves. Using the design science research methodology, we develop a novel method that visualizes loci of IP risks and uncertainties, as well as dynamics of IP ownership and usage in evolving innovation ecosystems. We demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of the new method in uncovering IP related risks and uncertainties by presenting results from applying the method to the innovation ecosystem for crisis-critical products during the COVID-19 pandemic. The currently ongoing pandemic has caused structural changes to that innovation ecosystem with new relationships being formed between incumbent manufacturers and new entrants that have rushed into that innovation ecosystem to support the upscaling of manufacturing capacities. This article contributes to the literature on visual methods for innovation ecosystems and provides a new method for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to identify IP related risks and uncertainties that can arise when innovation ecosystems undergo structural changes. The method allows researchers to formulate and test new theories, as well as practitioners and policy makers to develop strategies to anticipate and mitigate IP risks and uncertainties.