A mediated moderated analysis of knowledge management and stakeholder relationships between open innovation and performance of entrepreneurial firms

Abstract

Even though entrepreneurial firms make substantial contributions to both domestic and global economies and innovations, there is disagreement in the literature regarding how open innovation affects these firms' ability to succeed. The current research is an attempt to address the gaps by analyzing the intricacies and dynamics of entrepreneurial firms’ involvement in Open Innovation. Furthermore, the impact on performance is examined from a knowledge perspective. In Jordanian context, this study analyzed the link between stakeholder interactions, knowledge management, open innovation, and the performance of entrepreneurial firms. The findings demonstrated that open innovation activities are statistically significant to the overall performance of entrepreneurial firms. However, since it has an unintentional detrimental effect over the performance of entrepreneurial firms in Jordan, the moderating effect of stakeholder relations and the mediation effect of knowledge management has been analyzed. The moderating role of stakeholder relationships has been proven statistically which enriched the theoretical foundations of RBV and contingency theory by adding stakeholders’ theory into the combination of the two theories, at the end limitations and guidelines for future research along with practical implications are emphasized.