Determinants of business openness in the innovation processes (original) (raw)

Measuring the Openness of Innovation

2021

Measuring the openness of innovation is essential to understanding whether and under which conditions increasing openness is beneficial for organizations. However, no consensus has been so far achieved on which dimensions characterize the openness of innovation, which approach should be used to measure it, or which unit of analysis should be adopted. This paper proposes an approach, named ATOM (Aggregative Technique for Openness Measurement), to characterize and measure the openness of innovation, rooted in the concepts of knowledge supply (KS) and innovation practice (IP). As prescribed by the confirmation phase of theory building model, the approach has been successfully applied to a real innovation project. The paper contributes to clarifying the concept of innovation openness and attempts to improve its measurement by adopting a micro-level unit of analysis (i.e., single KS within an innovation project) as well as dimensions that extant literature considers relevant to managing ...

Proclivity for open innovation: Construct development and empirical validation

Innovation, 2016

Over the past decade, the concept of open innovation has received substantial attention. Research has ranged from case study representations to large-scale quantitative studies using the Community Innovation Survey data or developing novel approaches to measuring open innovation. In this study, we conceptualise and validate a firmlevel measure of proclivity for open innovation, which relates to the firm's predisposition to perform inbound and outbound open innovation activities. To do so, we focus on smaller firms, assessing their organisational and behavioural perspectives related to open innovation. Building on existing scholarly research and a field study, we begin by conceptualising the theoretical framework of the multidimensional construct. We then develop and validate its measurement scale on two cross-cultural samples. The measure contains the following dimensions: inward IP licensing and external participation, outsourcing R&D and external networking, customer involvement, employee involvement, venturing, and outward IP licensing. Our results indicate that the measure has good reliability and validity. Implications for future research are also discussed.

DIFFERENT MODES OF OPEN INNOVATION: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

International Journal of Innovation Management, 2009

Starting from the several conceptual and empirical studies about open innovation modes, this paper attempts to integrate them by suggesting a framework which reveals four basic ways to collaborate. Two variables are considered that represent the degree of openness for a company: (i) the number/type of partners with which the company collaborates, briefly labelled as "partner variety"; (ii) the number/type of phases of the innovation process that the company opens to external contributions, briefly labelled as "innovation funnel openness". By crossing these two variables, four basic modes of open innovation are identified: closed innovators, open innovators, specialized collaborators and integrated collaborators. The framework shows its practical validity in an empirical study that is conducted in Italy with the specific aim at verifying whether companies can really be mapped using this framework, i.e. whether the four modes of open innovation can be found in real companies (framework applicability); whether different modes correspond to different companies' strategies, capabilities, organisational and managerial processes (framework explicative power and usefulness). The framework shows that, in some cases, being totally open in innovation activities is not the only and most suitable option, but that different degrees and ways of "openness" can be implemented successfully, as well as the totally closed option.

A pilot case study of open innovation in a Brazilian company

Product Management & Development, 2013

open innovation represents a powerful competitive aspect not only in developed countries but also in emerging economies. In this context, this paper aims at demonstrating some aspects of the introduction of an open innovation program in a company in Brazil. A unit of analysis that produces cosmetics was selected due to its practices of innovation management, which is considered as a benchmark in the country. Case-based research was used as the methodological approach. Data were collected mostly by document analysis but some questions were answered by electronic mail to construct a case description. The company performs activities related to scientific and technological as well as market knowledge. The organization applies the concept of open innovation since the 90's and has increased its activity since then. This paper describes the open innovation program and discusses aspects of drivers and success factors for external collaborations. Results show that an infrastructure for innovation in addition to the initiatives of open innovation support company performance. There are also multiple ways of collaborations such as cooperation, co-creation, co-design, services, consulting, financing, etc. Conclusively, the results have found ground to the existing literature in the subject at some extent.

Openness and Innovation Performance Revisited

Journal of Marketing Behavior, 2016

Firms increasingly source new ideas and knowledge from alliances with external partners. Laursen and Salter's (2006) seminal research shows that while such openness in innovation benefits firms, too much openness can have a negative effect on innovation performance. We provide a conceptual replication of this finding, relying on a unique longitudinal panel data set comprising three different innovation performance metrics: product and service innovations, process innovations, and marketing innovations.

An Analysis of Open Innovation Strategies in Firms in Low and Medium Technology Industries

IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 2019

Open innovation (OI) has been mainly associated with high-technology firms. This paper aims to analyze how firms in low and medium technology industries implement their OI strategy. In doing so, we explore common patterns in OI strategies by considering inbound, outbound, and coupled OI practices. We also examine whether there are differences in innovation performance among companies adopting a specific OI strategy. The study is carried out on a sample of 242 Spanish innovating companies. Based on the relevance of the different OI practices, we identify three types of OI firms: advanced open innovators, intermediate open innovators, and incipient open innovators. Our results reveal that advanced open innovators have a higher performance in product innovation, and that there are no differences among groups in process and organizational innovation. Index Terms-Coupled OI, inbound OI, low and medium technology industries, open innovation (OI) practices, outbound OI.

PROFITING FROM OPENNESS: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROFITS AND OPENNESS AMONG INNOVATING FIRMS

2007

Abstract: In order to innovate, firms need to search for knowledge from a wide range of external knowledge sources. Absorbing and harnessing knowledge from external sources requires purposeful effort, investment and skill. Managerial decisions about how best to use these external sources can play a pivotal role in shaping firm performance. Using panel Finnish firms, this paper explores how firms openness to external sources shapes their profitability.

Open Innovation as a Tool of Strategic Management

2018

The open innovation phenomenon has developed from a small club of innovation practitioners, mostly active in high-tech industries, to a widely discussed and implemented innovation practice. Simultaneously, a small community of management researchers has recently developed into an established research field. Once a field grows rapidly there is a danger that it may become a short-term fashion. This special issue reports on recent research evidence to further develop the open innovation research field. South Moravian in Czech Republic region started to support companies and help them with organization of open innovation session. The tool perspective: Opening up the innovation process requires a set of instruments. Those tools, for example, enable customers to create or configure their own product with tools kits or enable companies to integrate external problem solvers or idea creators. Currently a broad awareness of open innovation and its relevance to corporate R&D. Aim of paper is research and measure the results after ten years since Open innovation has been supported by region government in South Moravian region in Czech republic and was implemented in innovation strategy of this region. Regional strategy is partnership of South Moravian companies, local scientists, public authorities and other parties connected to development in the region. Open innovation has become important part of strategic management and has become a well-established, though still somewhat fragmented, academic discipline.

Drivers of Innovation Capacity and Consequences for Open Innovation

Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 2021

The main objective of the present research is to identify the knowledge flows responsible for promoting the innovation capacity of Portuguese companies. Specifically, we intend to identify which variables influence Portuguese innovation capacity from a macro and micro perspective, so that we can establish possible ways to promote open innovation (OI) in Portugal since Portuguese companies have little maturity in terms of open innovation when compared to companies in other countries of the European Union. To achieve this goal, the methodological design used consisted of two phases. In the first phase, a literature review was conducted to identify the main variables associated with innovation performance. After identifying the most influential variables in the literature, in a second phase, data were collected through three distinct databases, namely Pordata, the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority, and SABI. To identify the most influential variables in the Portuguese innovation cap...

Degree of openness and performance in the search for innovation

2012

External knowledge has been the object of increasing attention in the past few years, corresponding to the rise in company innovation models that are based on a higher degree of openness towards external actors. This study investigates the practices that firms adopt in searching for external knowledge to innovate their products, exploring the relationships between performance of innovation processes and the breadth and depth of search practices. In so doing, we explore the role of openness through the lens of search practices, rather than examining the variety of external actors from which firms draw relevant knowledge for product innovation.