Patterns of Industrial Designs: Evidence from Austria

Design is increasingly seen as an important ingredient to the competitiveness of firms. However open innovation processes need to be, we also know that appropriability of knowledge is key to maintaining a competitive advantage. In the light of the above we ask the following research questions. What is the the significance of industrial designs as a protection mechanism over the Austrian firm population? What characterizes firms that chose designs to protect their innovation processes and results? We use data on industrial designs registered at the Austrian patent office for national protection in the period from 2004-2014 and match them with Aurelia firm data. We estimate a Poisson model, showing that firm size and export ratios positively influence the propensity to apply for designs, while firm age has a negative effect.