IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormnsc/v68y2022i9p6971-6992.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bankrupt Innovative Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Song Ma

    (Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520; National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138)

  • Joy Tianjiao Tong

    (Ivey Business School, Western University, London, Ontario N6G 0N1, Canada)

  • Wei Wang

    (Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada)

Abstract

We study how innovative firms manage their innovation portfolios after filing for Chapter 11 reorganization using three decades of data. We find that they sell off core (i.e., technologically critical and valuable), rather than peripheral, patents in bankruptcy. The selling pattern is driven almost entirely by firms with greater use of secured debt, and the mechanism is secured creditors exercising their control rights on collateralized patents. Creditor-driven patent sales in bankruptcy have implications for technology diffusion—the sold patents diffuse more slowly under new ownership and are more likely to be purchased by patent trolls.

Suggested Citation

  • Song Ma & Joy Tianjiao Tong & Wei Wang, 2022. "Bankrupt Innovative Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6971-6992, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:68:y:2022:i:9:p:6971-6992
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2021.4141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4141
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mnsc.2021.4141?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Goyal, Vidhan K. & Wang, Wei, 2017. "Provision of Management Incentives in Bankrupt Firms," Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting, now publishers, vol. 2(1), pages 87-123, June.
    2. Brav, Alon & Jiang, Wei & Ma, Song & Tian, Xuan, 2018. "How does hedge fund activism reshape corporate innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 237-264.
    3. Figueroa, Nicolás & Serrano, Carlos J., 2019. "Patent trading flows of small and large firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1601-1616.
    4. Paul Asquith & Robert Gertner & David Scharfstein, 1994. "Anatomy of Financial Distress: An Examination of Junk-Bond Issuers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 625-658.
    5. Carlos J. Serrano, 2010. "The dynamics of the transfer and renewal of patents," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(4), pages 686-708, December.
    6. Ashish Arora & Andrea Fosfuri & Alfonso Gambardella, 2004. "Markets for Technology: The Economics of Innovation and Corporate Strategy," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262511819, April.
    7. Song Ma, 2020. "The Life Cycle of Corporate Venture Capital," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 358-394.
    8. Sudheer Chava & Vikram Nanda & Steven Chong Xiao, 2017. "Lending to Innovative Firms," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(2), pages 234-289.
    9. Efraim Benmelech & Nitish Kumar & Raghuram Rajan, 2024. "The Decline of Secured Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(1), pages 35-93, February.
    10. James R. Brown & Steven M. Fazzari & Bruce C. Petersen, 2009. "Financing Innovation and Growth: Cash Flow, External Equity, and the 1990s R&D Boom," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 151-185, February.
    11. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:5:p:1443-1493 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Mann, William, 2018. "Creditor rights and innovation: Evidence from patent collateral," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 25-47.
    13. Carey, Mark & Gordy, Michael B., 2021. "The bank as Grim Reaper: Debt composition and bankruptcy thresholds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1092-1108.
    14. Ufuk Akcigit & Murat Alp Celik & Jeremy Greenwood, 2016. "Buy, Keep, or Sell: Economic Growth and the Market for Ideas," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 84, pages 943-984, May.
    15. Hochberg, Yael V. & Serrano, Carlos J. & Ziedonis, Rosemarie H., 2018. "Patent collateral, investor commitment, and the market for venture lending," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 74-94.
    16. Jean-Marie Meier & Henri Servaes, 2019. "The Bright Side of Fire Sales," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(11), pages 4228-4270.
    17. Wei Jiang & Kai Li & Wei Wang, 2012. "Hedge Funds and Chapter 11," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(2), pages 513-560, April.
    18. Valerie A. Ramey & Matthew D. Shapiro, 2001. "Displaced Capital: A Study of Aerospace Plant Closings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 109(5), pages 958-992, October.
    19. Viral V. Acharya & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2009. "Bankruptcy Codes and Innovation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(12), pages 4949-4988, December.
    20. Li, Kai & Wang, Wei, 2016. "Debtor-in-possession financing, loan-to-loan, and loan-to-own," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 121-138.
    21. Joshua S. Gans & Scott Stern, 2010. "Is there a market for ideas?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(3), pages 805-837, June.
    22. Nini, Greg & Smith, David C. & Sufi, Amir, 2009. "Creditor control rights and firm investment policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(3), pages 400-420, June.
    23. Lauren Cohen & Umit G. Gurun & Scott Duke Kominers, 2019. "Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(12), pages 5461-5486, December.
    24. Efraim Benmelech & Nittai K. Bergman, 2011. "Bankruptcy and the Collateral Channel," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(2), pages 337-378, April.
    25. Greg Nini & David C. Smith & Amir Sufi, 2012. "Creditor Control Rights, Corporate Governance, and Firm Value," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(6), pages 1713-1761.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ayerbe, Cécile & Azzam, Jamal & Boussetta, Selma & Pénin, Julien, 2023. "Revisiting the consequences of loans secured by patents on technological firms' intellectual property and innovation strategies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Campello, Murillo & Connolly, Robert A. & Kankanhalli, Gaurav & Steiner, Eva, 2022. "Do real estate values boost corporate borrowing? Evidence from contract-level data," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 611-644.
    2. Carlos J. Serrano & Rosemarie Ziedonis, 2018. "How Redeployable are Patent Assets? Evidence from Failed Startups," NBER Working Papers 24526, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Filippo Mezzanotti, 2021. "Roadblock to Innovation: The Role of Patent Litigation in Corporate R&D," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7362-7390, December.
    4. Wu, Xiaokang & Yang, Jijun, 2023. "High-speed railway and patent trade in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    5. Figueroa, Nicolás & Serrano, Carlos J., 2019. "Patent trading flows of small and large firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1601-1616.
    6. Duan, Ran, 2023. "Patent trolls and capital structure decisions in high-tech firms," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Lee, Jiyoon, 2022. "Do firms use credit lines to support investment opportunities?: Evidence from success in R&D," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-14.
    8. Gill, Andrej & Heller, David, 2024. "Leveraging intellectual property: The value of harmonized enforcement regimes," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    9. Gonzalez-Uribe, Juanita, 2020. "Exchanges of innovation resources inside venture capital portfolios," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100924, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. González-Uribe, Juanita, 2020. "Exchanges of innovation resources inside venture capital portfolios," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 144-168.
    11. Mann, William, 2018. "Creditor rights and innovation: Evidence from patent collateral," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(1), pages 25-47.
    12. Ayerbe, Cécile & Azzam, Jamal & Boussetta, Selma & Pénin, Julien, 2023. "Revisiting the consequences of loans secured by patents on technological firms' intellectual property and innovation strategies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).
    13. Gianluca Orsatti & Valerio Sterzi, 2018. "Do Patent Assertion Entities Harm Innovation? Evidence from Patent Transfers in Europe," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2018-08, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    14. Rong, Zhao & Zhang, Fuxin & Chen, Shi, 2023. "Short-term loans and Firms' high-quality innovation: Evidence from the access to patent-backed loans in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Bereskin, Fred & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Latham, William & Wang, Huijun, 2023. "So Sue Me! The cross section of stock returns related to patent infringement allegations," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    16. Wenlian Gao & Feifei Zhu & Kai Chen, 2023. "The role of bank lenders in firm leverage adjustments," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 63-97, February.
    17. Hegde, Shantaram P. & Mishra, Dev R., 2023. "Patented knowledge capital and implied equity risk premium," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    18. Efraim Benmelech & Nitish Kumar & Raghuram Rajan, 2024. "The Decline of Secured Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(1), pages 35-93, February.
    19. Kang, Youngho & Kim, Ryoonhee & Whang, Unjung, 2023. "International knowledge transfers and capital structure of multinational affiliates: Evidence from expatriate managers as the transfer agents," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    20. Moshirian, Fariborz & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Wenrui, 2021. "Stock market liberalization and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 985-1014.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:68:y:2022:i:9:p:6971-6992. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.