Open Innovation In Developing Country Smes: Evidence From Turkey

Abstract

Earlier open innovation studies focused mainly on large enterprises. Limited number of studies on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), on the other hand, mainly focused on developed countries. Empirical studies on open innovation in developing country SMEs are still missing in the literature. This study addresses this gap by focusing on SMEs in a developing country context. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first explorative study that measures to which extent SMEs apply open innovation practices in Turkey. We draw on a survey database of 674 SMEs and found that more than two third of SMEs involve in open innovation. Among open innovation practices measured in this study, vertical collaboration (collaboration with suppliers and customers) emerged as the most common open innovation practice. We analysed the results according to the sector and found that SMEs in high technology sector involve in open innovation more than their counterparts in low technology sectors. However, more than half of low technology SMEs involve in open innovation. We also found that customers are the most preferred collaborators for SMEs, followed by suppliers and rivals. Final and the most interesting finding of this study is collaboration with suppliers yields more innovation than collaboration with customers.