Patent Portfolio Diversity and Firm Profitability: a Study on the Form of the Relationship

to understand the logic hidden behind firms' patenting activity, it is necessary to analyze patent portfolios' structure. The aim of this work is to investigate the relationship between patent portfolio diversity and firm performance. In particular, considering the International Patent Classification to establish the technological fields of patents, we analyzed diversity at three levels of classification. Moreover, we study how patent forward citations influence this relationship. This work contributes to understanding the relationship between patent portfolio diversity at different levels and firm performance, and the moderating effect of forward citations. Our results offer new insights to scholars and practitioners on the financial and strategic value of patent portfolio diversity