Construction of Open Innovation Ecology on the Internet: A Case Study of Xiaomi (China) Using Institutional Logic

Jaime Ortiz,Hao Ren,Kei Li,An Zhang

doi:10.3390/su11113225

Abstract

The characteristics of collaborative innovation and interactions among core enterprises, users, and partners are critical. Research is lacking on how to construct open innovation ecology through institutional design. This study explores how core enterprises effectively motivate users and partners to participate in innovation activities on the Internet and successfully constructing open innovation ecology, using the institutional logic theory and an exploratory case study of Xiaomi, a famous Chinese Internet enterprise. The findings are as follows: (1) three main characteristics of innovation carried out by core enterprises, users, and partners in the open innovation ecology—iterative innovation, social innovation, and joint innovation; (2) three new institutional practices—following, leading, and symbiotic mechanisms—which provide an effective institutional guarantee for interaction and innovation; (3) two kinds of institutional logic—administrative logic and social logic, which core enterprises follow to construct open innovation ecology on the Internet, and its change in innovation characteristics. Therefore, a full understanding of the changing rules of the institutional logic is fundamental for successfully building open innovation ecology. This study enriches both the open innovation ecology theory as well as the institutional logic theory. In addition, Xiaomi’s open innovation ecological development model proves that core enterprises can take the approach of building open innovation ecology. It provides a strong example to other enterprises on innovations on the Internet.

Highlights

The integration of open innovation with an innovation ecosystem promotes the development of open innovation ecology [1]
This study explores how core enterprises effectively motivate users and partners to participate in innovation activities on the Internet and successfully constructing open innovation ecology, using the institutional logic theory and an exploratory case study of Xiaomi, a famous Chinese Internet enterprise
This study addresses the research question: How do core enterprises effectively motivate users and partners to participate in innovation activities on the Internet, thereby successfully building open innovation ecology? (1) What are the characteristics of innovation among core enterprises, users, and partners in the process of building the open innovation ecology? (2) What mechanisms are effective in motivating users and partners to participate in innovation? And (3) what institutional logic do core enterprises, users, and partners apply to innovate and what are the implementation paths by which core enterprises successfully construct an open innovation ecology

Summary

Introduction

The integration of open innovation with an innovation ecosystem promotes the development of open innovation ecology [1]. With the global rise of open innovation, users and enterprise partners are widely involved in and play an increasingly important role in all aspects of innovation [2]. The network among the main participants in the innovation ecosystem gets increasingly robust as interactions become more frequent [3]. The innovation boundary between core enterprises, users, and enterprise partners is constantly blurred and the openness of the innovation ecosystem continues to increase [4]. The integration of open innovation and the innovation ecosystem is a new trend in enterprise innovation on the Internet. The core enterprise, users, and partners together constitute the open innovation ecology

Results

Discussion

Conclusion