Trade secret management in high technology: A legal review and research agenda

Given the importance of trade secrets to the success of high technology employers and the concurrent responsibility of managers for their protection, the present article reviews the existing trade secret legal environment to identify important issues and principles to guide high tech managers in meeting their responsibility. Based on this review, organizational and human resource management research issues are posed to suggest an agenda for investigating the impact of trade secret law on individual firms, innovation processes in the high technology sector, and the ability to attract and retain knowledge workers engaged in trade secret sensitive jobs.