The purpose of this study is to analyse the extent to which national culture values influence the choices that firms make among different protection mechanisms (formal mechanisms and informal mechanisms). It presents the results of a survey administered across 13 countries that examines innovation protection mechanisms by adopting Hofstede's national cultural framework. We test the hypotheses in a sample of 148 biotechnology firms. The findings illustrate that national culture values do influence the choice and the relative importance of secrecy.