A new study from the Coller School of Management at Tel Aviv University has uncovered a startling trend in the business world: one in four employees of commercial organizations has withheld their inventions from their employer. This phenomenon, known as invention withholding, carries serious implications for businesses, especially in knowledge-intensive industries. The study sheds light on the complex behavioral dilemmas faced by employees when they conceive new inventions, and the need for innovative management strategies to address this issue.
The Alarming Data
The research claims that one employee in four in the trading sector has hidden his/her own invention from his/her employer. This is a big discovery that shows how common this behavior is, and the tribulations businesses face when attempting to protect their IP.
The researchers discovered that in numerous cases, the withholding is made by design and used to take the invention with them once they leave the agency. One worry arising from such circumstances is the possible diminution of valuable innovations and the prospects of legal wrangling between erstwhile employers and employees.
The Behavioral Dilemma
It explores the intricate decision-making process that employees go through when they create something new. And even if that is not the case, they would hove to disclose it to their employer legally anyway, so the company would get a patent and ownership rights in any event. Conversely, employees may be incentivized to not disclose their invention as they might even be able to cash in on it outside of the company.
Add to this the chronic issue of employees departing from one organization to work for another in the same industry or starting their own business – and, typically, working on an idea they first dreamt up while still at their original workplace – and the behavioral puzzle becomes that much more complex. Some of these disputes are litigated between the employer and former or affiliated employee, with the employer asserting ownership rights to an invention that was subsequently used in a new commercial application.
Management’s Response to the Problem
The authors of the study add that the legal remedies available today are not the best solution in this case. Instead, these tools say that things like “managing to enhance employees’ toothfulness” and “of big bosses wanting to prevent small workers from keeping — shows very much greater promise”.
With this goal in mind, the study created an innovative and validated measure to examine of the reason for which employees are more or less likely reveal their inventions to their employers. The results of the study showed that propitiating and withholding inventions are fundamentally different behaviors that are influenced by distinct factors. This is an important distinction for organizations to consider if interested in solving this problem, because past measures to incentivize more disclosures may be less effective with employees who are purposefully not sharing their inventions.
Employers should also take from the study that workers have long memories and will pursue their claims in court — if not more quickly, then at least with attention to detail. They feel that the right management systems can inspire disclosure and virtually wipe out invention withholding inside companies.
