Abstract
resources to cope with issues that arise in the various stages of the innovation process. These are often lacking in private family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such firms usually do not possess the required diversity of in-house resources and expertise, which makes it extremely difficult for them to rely solely on in-house innovation activities. Opening their boundaries and collaborating are, therefore, essential for innovation success. Open innovation (OI) – strategic collaboration with external partners to develop new technological innovations through sharing, using, and integrating knowledge – involves loosening control and allowing for a high degree of interdependence among the partners in the innovation process. However, engaging in OI poses major challenges to family firms. Their willingness to engage in OI activities might be seriously hampered by a fear of control loss and/or by multiple and potentially conflicting goals within the family firm and family system. Some family firms successfully meet these challenges, others do not. Therefore, our main objective is to explore a diversity of OI processes in private family SMEs and to examine the ways in which family firms can rise to the challenges and succeed in innovating openly. In this respect, we recognize that OI processes are a specific type of strategic change that may involve various iterative cycles of internal change in which the firm may never reach a final state. The state of openness and the supporting internal characteristics need to be constantly scrutinized and maintained.
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