Using patents to orchestrate ecosystem stability: the case of a French aerospace company

In this paper, we focus on how focal firms influence business ecosystem stability through patent management. We present and discuss a case study of Thales Alenia Space, a leader in the aerospace industry, and its ecosystem partners. We make two counterintuitive insights about ecosystem management. First, a focal firm can use patents in a new way in order to ensure the stability of its ecosystem. Second, patent licensing facilitates an inverted pattern of knowledge creation and commercialisation between large and small firms, in which small firms are able to commercialise innovations created by large firms in unexpected markets. Furthermore, this article contributes to the literature on patent management by providing new evidence on the external leveraging of knowledge.