Implementing Open Innovation in Research and Technology Organisations: Approaches and Impact

Juan Ignacio Igartua,Rafael Lizarralde,Ramon Uribe-Echeberria

doi:10.3390/joitmc5040091

Juan Ignacio Igartua, Rafael Lizarralde + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc5040091

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Abstract

Research and development organisations (RTOs) are at the heart of innovation systems. They help to connect innovation system actors to foster industrial innovation. Due to this intermediary role, they act as paradigmatic open innovation (OI) actors. In this context, RTOs need to balance their knowledge stocks and flows, while assuring their own innovation capabilities and positively impacting the innovation system they influence. Thus, RTOs need to develop collaboration approaches that support their own performance while increasing their capabilities and not threatening their competitive advantages derived from their knowledge stock. In this study we extend the OI research to research organisations analysing their OI approach and the impact on its own performance, developing a new framework for OI study in RTOs using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The research, based on a sample of Spanish RTOs, arises two substantive conclusions. First, an increased number of collaboration partners (collaboration breadth) and the use of a variety of OI practices have a strong impact on RTOs’ overall performance (scientific, transference, and economic results). Second, RTOs need to foster their aperture and promote an active management to benefit from collaborating partners, whereas managers should pay special attention to questions related to the protection and management of intellectual property when promoting the use of different OI practices. Both results also emphasise the importance of managing firms’ knowledge flows in the implementation of OI in RTOs.

Highlights

The collaborative approach to science, technology and innovation has become very important for innovation and technology diffusion and has, caught the attention of managers, economists, and politicians [1]
We have developed a new research model, that besides integrating previous authors approaches studying the effect of open innovation (OI) in performance of firms [10,41,45,61], considers and integrates the special characteristics of Research and development organisations (RTOs) and their features regarding their role in the innovation systems
This study aims to explore the OI approach and the performance of RTOs, and the variance-based partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM)

Summary

Introduction

The collaborative approach to science, technology and innovation has become very important for innovation and technology diffusion and has, caught the attention of managers, economists, and politicians [1] This way of organising research, development, and innovation activities is an effective way of sharing knowledge, obtaining complementary assets and generating new technologies in most sectors where technological advances are rapid [2]. From the perspective of innovation, Chesbrough [3] coined the term open innovation (OI) to describe a trend in innovation theory, evolving from a closed to an open approach. He defined OI as “the use of knowledge flows from abroad and outward to accelerate the innovation process and expand the market for the external use of innovation, respectively”.

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