This study makes the following contributions to strategic management theory. First, it identifies specific actions firms take to protect critical resources such as technological discoveries. Second, it examines the extent to which these actions expedite or impede resource imitation by competitors. It provides greater theoretical clarity on the link between resource attributes, resource deployment, and their imitation. Thirdly, it proposes that the interaction between resource attributes and how firms deploy these resources predict the probability and timing of resource imitation. Lastly, it begins to explicate how particular resources are susceptible to imitation. The findings of this study provide mixed support for the theory, as the analysis did not confirm some of the hypotheses. The studys most interesting finding concerns how resource deployment, as measured by its level of visibility by external parties, moderates the negative relationship between a resources innovativeness and the timing of its imitation. Overall, the findings suggest that both resource attributes and firm deployment decisions impact the probability and timing of resource imitation.