ABSTRACT Trademarking firms are more productive, generate higher profits, and have a better survival rate. Trademarking firms are in one word more successful, which might motivate non-trademarking firms to adopt a trademark strategy. But this does not seem to be the case. The proportion of trademarking firms in the German business sector amounts to just 18%. This figure is quite low, given that nearly each firm has reputation to protect. But why does the vast majority of firms not have registered trademarks? Using a representative sample of German firms, the present paper links certain firm characteristics to a firm’s propensity to register trademarks. The empirical results point to circumstances under which trademarks are significantly more often used: this is the case where a large distance between a firm and its customers exists, a firm’s product quality is difficult to assess, a firm’s products are characterised by a limited (but not strong) substitutability, and where a firm is engaged in R&D and introduces innovative products. Trademarks are considerably less frequently used if none of this is the case.

中文翻译：

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哪些公司使用商标？来自德国的关于距离、产品质量和创新作用的企业级证据

摘要 商标公司的生产力更高，利润更高，存活率更高。总之，商标公司更成功，这可能会激励非商标公司采用商标战略。但情况似乎并非如此。德国商业部门中商标公司的比例仅为 18%。这个数字相当低，因为几乎每家公司都有声誉需要保护。但为什么绝大多数企业没有注册商标？本文使用德国公司的代表性样本，将某些公司特征与公司注册商标的倾向联系起来。实证结果指出商标使用频率明显更高的情况：在这种情况下，公司与其客户之间存在较大距离，企业的产品质量难以评估，企业产品的可替代性有限（但不强），企业从事研发和引进创新产品。如果不是这种情况，商标的使用频率就会大大降低。