New protectionist policies, intellectual property rights, and the organization of firms

The aim is to explore the causes and effects of trade and trade-related policies in the current global context, providing a framework to identify new protectionist challenges and anticipate their impact on location, ownership, and organizational patterns of international production. The focus is on intellectual property regulations amid mounting populism and worldwide protectionist pressures with a critical attitude towards international economic exchange, international institutions, foreign firms, and governments. It is essential to understand the role of IPR protection on firm ownership and organizational decisions, which governs the extent of knowledge diffusion within international business groups and across global value chains. This is particularly important today because protectionist trends include restrictions on technology transfer, making the structure of firms’ business strategy and IPR policy of paramount importance in reducing the negative consequences and preserving global innovation.