Trademarks and Expansion in Production Networks

Trademarks and Expansion in Production Networks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Trademarks and Expansion in Production Networks Nuriye Melisa Bilgin, Nevine El Mallakh This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9375399/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A wide class of literature shows the importance of branding and trust in final goods consumption, however, the role of trademarks in firm-to-firm relationships has received less attention. This paper focuses on filling this gap by investigating the impact of trademark ownership on the production networks of manufacturing firms. Using a comprehensive firm-to-firm transaction-level dataset in Turkey, we find that companies that apply for and receive trademarks make significant inroads in their position within supply chains. These firms experience, on average, a 13.7% increase in network centrality compared to those whose trademark applications are declined. The effects of branding are not limited to the network; we also document an 11.8% increase in productivity and a 23.9% increase in size within firm, four years after a granted trademark. This evidence suggests that trademarks enhance firms' visibility and credibility, attracting more business partners and expanding market reach. JEL Codes: D22, L14, O34, L25 Trademarks production networks firm-to-firm trade network centrality branding Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 13 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 10 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9375399","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":622254036,"identity":"c446a496-55d0-46ec-b10d-22c0dfe1d2c5","order_by":0,"name":"Nuriye Melisa Bilgin","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHoYDDxgkGPh5QBw2YrUkALVI9kC18BCjhSEBSBmcIVaLbnvvwQMJvyzyjM+cMWD4UHaYwV76AH4tZmfOJRxI7JMoNjvbY8A449xhBh6+BAJabuQYHEjskUjcdp7HgJm3DaiFkMvM7r+BaNncD9TylygtN3gMDiT8kEjcwNtjwMxIlJYzeUC/NEgkzjhzrOBgz7l0Hp4zhLQcP3v4w4c/dYn9PckbH/wos5Zj7yGgBQwY2yD0AQaiYhIM/hCpbhSMglEwCkYmAACfykYDInjiZgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Koç University: Koc Universitesi","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nuriye","middleName":"Melisa","lastName":"Bilgin","suffix":""},{"id":622254037,"identity":"df916260-8202-4282-9c0f-256f7f229187","order_by":1,"name":"Nevine El Mallakh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"European Commission Joint Research Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nevine","middleName":"El","lastName":"Mallakh","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-10 06:31:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9375399/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9375399/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107485793,"identity":"635b9f9b-ac42-4f34-8039-a6deb136d89f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-22 02:36:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":273717,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BilginElmallakhFINAL.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9375399/v1_covered_04144701-f91d-4847-9b28-05fa56b19e72.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Trademarks and Expansion in Production Networks","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-world-economics","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"rowe","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of World Economics](http://link.springer.com/journal/10290)","snPcode":"10290","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/rowe/default2.aspx","title":"Review of World Economics","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Trademarks, production networks, firm-to-firm trade, network centrality, branding","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9375399/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9375399/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA wide class of literature shows the importance of branding and trust in final goods consumption, however, the role of trademarks in firm-to-firm relationships has received less attention. This paper focuses on filling this gap by investigating the impact of trademark ownership on the production networks of manufacturing firms. Using a comprehensive firm-to-firm transaction-level dataset in Turkey, we find that companies that apply for and receive trademarks make significant inroads in their position within supply chains. These firms experience, on average, a 13.7%\u0026nbsp;increase in network centrality compared to those whose trademark applications are declined. The effects of branding are not limited to the network; we also document an 11.8%\u0026nbsp;increase in productivity and a 23.9%\u0026nbsp;increase in size within firm, four years after a granted trademark. 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