%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2016 %T Detecting White Spots in Innovation-Driven Intellectual Property Management %A Daniel Eckelt %A Christian Dülme %A Jürgen Gausemeier %A Simon Hemel %K business model %K competitive advantage %K competitive arena %K Innovation management %K intellectual capital %K intellectual property %K value proposition %X Technology companies scan the competitive arena for patents to discover research activities and technology trends. Patents are the outcome of innovation processes that take several month or even years, depending on the industry. The process of publishing patents usually lasts longer. A huge time gap of up to several years between early research and development activities and published patents is the consequence. Therefore, a patent is a weak indicator for the identification of early innovation activities. However, the inventor needs intellectual assets such as data, knowledge, and expertise to carry out an innovation process. It is likely that these intellectual assets can improve the competitor analysis – rendering them primary targets. In this article, we introduce a systematic approach to detect intellectual property (IP) activities of stakeholders in selected technology fields (e.g., hiring experts, taking part in research projects, gathering specific data). A technology field with a low intensity of IP activities offers great opportunities, which we call a "white spot". Our proposed approach can help identify the white spots in innovation-driven IP management and thereby help devise recommendations to improve a company’s IP portfolio. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 6 %P 34-47 %8 07/2016 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/1003 %N 7 %1 Heinz Nixdorf Institute Daniel Eckelt (MSc) is a Research Associate in the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at the University of Paderborn, Germany. He works in a team focused on strategic planning and innovation management within the working group of strategic product planning and systems engineering. His research topics are Industrie 4.0, strategic IP management, and innovation management in multi-stakeholder organizations. In this field, he is working in numerous research and industry projects as wells as in political and social consulting. %2 Heinz Nixdorf Institute Christian Dülme (MSc) is a Research Associate in the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at the University of Paderborn, Germany. He works in a team focused on strategic planning and innovation management within the working of group strategic product planning and systems engineering. His research topics are future scenarios for Industrie 4.0, potential identification, and product strategy, particularly the reconfiguration of product portfolios. In these fields, he is working in numerous research and industry projects. %3 Heinz Nixdorf Institute Jürgen Gausemeier is a Senior Professor in the Heinz Nixdorf Institute at the University of Paderborn, Germany. His key activities are strategic product planning and systems engineering. He was speaker of the Collaborative Research Centre 614 "Self-Optimizing Concepts and Structures in Mechanical Engineering" by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and was a member of the German Council of Science and Humanities from 2009 until 2015. Jürgen is the initiator and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the consultant company UNITY AG. Since 2003, he has been member of acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering and has been its Vice President since 2012. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Leading-Edge Cluster "Intelligente Technische Systeme Ostwestfalen-Lippe (it's OWL)”, which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. %4 Simon Hemel (MSc) works in the field of technical controlling for one of the world's leading manufacturers of slewing bearings. After an apprenticeship as a Management Assistant in IT systems at a German telecommunications company, Simon studied industrial engineering with focus on innovation and development management and controlling at the University of Paderborn, Germany. His master's thesis in the field of Intellectual Property Management was carried out in cooperation with the working group of strategic product planning and systems engineering at the Heinz Nixdorf Institute and a German medical-technology company, which is a world market leader in the field of exo-prosthetics. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1003