Open innovation through customers: open innovation intermediary services supporting firms. An exploratory study

Abstract

We aim at analysing open innovation intermediary (OII) services provided to firms in order to support their innovation processes with customers in an open innovation (OI) context. After a review of past literature contributions, we analysed two OII platforms and mapped the services provided in this domain, through a case study methodology. We found that: 1) both the number of OII and the services provided are limited; 2) OIIs approach this OI mode in various ways, offering a different bundle of services; 3) these differences are not easily distinguishable by OII web-based platform characteristics. The paper enhances knowledge of services provided by OII in the innovation processes firms carried out with customers, little studied in literature, even if theoretical contributions recognise many benefits for firms. It also sheds light on the characteristics of web-based platforms of OI, refining previous definitions.