Threading fashion’s paradox knot: IP strategy in open and sustainable innovation

Purpose This study examines how entrepreneurial ventures in the fashion industry use intellectual property (IP) to manage paradoxical tensions arising from sustainable open innovation. We focus on two paradoxes – knowledge sharing vs. knowledge control and economic vs. sustainability outcomes – and show how they knot together, generating emergent tensions that shape ventures’ IP strategy toward seeking complementarity where possible and compromise where necessary. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, interview-based study of 24 sustainable ventures in the fashion industry (32 interviews plus secondary data). Using three-stage open coding, we analyzed decisions around sustainability pathways, sustainability challenges and the role of IP. We identify emergent tensions arising at the intersection of the two paradoxes and trace how ventures mobilize IP to navigate them. Findings Three emergent tensions are identified: incumbent-led vs. venture-led change (sustainability pathways), sustainability ideals vs. economic incentives (sustainability challenges) and innovation diffusion vs. venture survival (role of IP). Ventures use IP not to privilege sharing or protection, but to orchestrate both through boundary-spanning, threshold protection with selective openness and processual adjustments over time. Originality/value The study advances paradox theory by empirically detailing how paradox knots materialize in entrepreneurial practice, and extends IP strategy research by reframing IP as a dynamic, processual orchestration and boundary object under enduring paradox. It clarifies when and how IP both enables and constrains sustainable innovation, highlighting its integral (though often under-recognized) role in achieving integrated economic and sustainability outcomes.