Collaborative innovation with suppliers in a turbulent market

Abstract

This study investigates benefit sharing practices in supplier networks as a new incentive scheme that manufacturers can use to gain suppliers’ active participation in collaborative innovation. Based on observations from the case study, Samsung’s benefit sharing practices are analysed and their featured characteristics and the requisite conditions extracted. The findings illustrate the operating mechanisms of benefit sharing practices. The findings also demonstrate the requisite infrastructure that manufacturers should build to ensure the success of benefit sharing. This study, the first examination of the mechanisms of benefit sharing in the context of a rapidly changing industry, not only enriches inter-organisational learning research but also provides new insights into collaborative-innovation for companies and government authorities.