Fostering sustainable growth in aeronautics: Open social innovation, multifunctional team management, and collaborative governance

Abstract

• Collaborative governance enables stakeholder engagement and high performance. • Collaboration with suppliers is a strategic issue in fostering sustainable growth. • Multifunctional teams enhance the quality of the decision-making process. • Multifunctional teams are a key success factor of open social innovation projects. • Cultural and organizational diversity produces original and disruptive ideas. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how open social innovation projects led by multifunctional, interorganizational, and international teams can contribute to sustainable value creation and growth in a context of collaborative governance. An in-depth case study of Airbus, the global aeronautics business leader, was conducted. The discussion reveals the importance of turning strategic suppliers into long-term partners and collaborating with a wide variety of public and private organizations. Business leaders should be audacious and aim for market disruption to implement sustainable processes and develop sustainable products. Efficient collective knowledge management is essential for the success of open social innovation projects and for lasting sustainable growth.