Specifically, our findings emphasize that creating value through external patent exploitation is not a simple quick win, but requires a certain commitment by the firms in terms of internal effort, collaboration with the partner firm, and the transfer of know-how. This study is the first which uses the concept of desorptive capacity to analyze the management of external patent exploitation at the firm level. Thus,the article contributes to the concept of desorptive capacity and existing literature on intellectual property management in the context of open innovation. The findings might also help firms to improve their management and success of creating value of their patents by exploiting them outside of the firm boundaries.