We develop and test a theoretical framework that describes the organizational antecedents of value appropriation capabilities in the context of obtaining patent protection. We argue that intermediate levels of cross-functional involvement across intellectual property (IP) generation, protection, and utilization activities outperform very high or very low levels of functional specialization in terms of obtaining rapid patent protection; while these activities are distinct enough to generate gains from specialization, there are also significant gains to be generated by coordinating across them, which cross-functional involvement achieves. Using a unique dataset that combines survey and patent (application) data, and multiple estimation techniques, we test and find support for our arguments.