Innovation Intermediaries Research Articles

The dual knowledge role of open innovation intermediaries: Internal weaving and external filtering for MNE subsidiaries

Developing dual embeddedness for subsidiaries with competence-creating mandates in multinational enterprises (MNE) presents contradictory knowledge demands in internal and external networks that hamper their innovative capacity. Sourcing knowledge externally and transferring this across the MNE is a delicate yet demanding balancing act, and scholars suggest that competence-creating subsidiaries achieve this by building firm-specific innovative capabilities. Although open innovation (OI) studies contend that intermediaries may be important in connecting subsidiaries locally, we have yet to fully understand if, and how, these intermediaries influence subsidiary dual embeddedness. Through an exploratory qualitative case study design, we find that an OI intermediary performs a critical dual knowledge role through internal weaving and external filtering in helping subsidiaries navigate the conflicting knowledge challenges of dual embeddedness. Specifically, we disentangle how performing this role requires the OI intermediary to habitually engage in a range of complementary activities that enhance intra-firm knowledge transfer both vertically and laterally, to and from the subsidiary, as well as expanding the capacity of the subsidiary to source knowledge externally in their local network. In spotlighting the intermediary-subsidiary interface, our findings generate greater integration between the literature in international business (IB) and open innovation, specifically subsidiary dual embeddedness, and OI intermediaries.

Role of technology centers in regional competitiveness: a multicriteria approach

Countries adopt different policies and strategies to boost regional growth and competitiveness. R&D is one of the most important drivers of national competitiveness because of its ability to generate knowledge and convert that knowledge into useful information to improve people’s lives and maintain economic prosperity. Innovation emerges within innovation systems. Such systems encourage collaboration among institutional and economic agents. One of the main groups of agents that foster such collaboration consists of innovation intermediaries. Technology centers (TCs) are a prime example of such intermediaries, which exert a positive impact on the business sector. Given the numerous factors influencing TC efficiency, this paper studies the key variables associated with this efficiency, providing a ranking of these variables based on the views of innovation system experts. To evaluate these variables, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used. Of the six areas identified as essential for TC activity, the impact of TCs and the types of actions they undertake are the most important aspects for improving TC and business efficiency, as well as regional competitiveness. This study highlights the role of TCs in helping companies respond to challenges with innovative solutions that foster a strong, competitive, and innovative regional business sector.

Innovation intermediaries' types and functions: A computational analysis of the literature

Innovation intermediaries have become numerous and diverse. Faced with this growing heterogeneity, there is the need to advance understanding of the organisations that engage in innovation intermediation activities. To do so, we use a combination of text mining and bibliometric techniques, and we identify seven different streams of literature, six of which refer to distinct types of intermediaries that perform specific functions and often involve specific types of organisations. Looking at the evolution of the different streams of literature over time, we find that the early contributions focused on university incubators, science and technology parks, and the role they play within different types of innovation systems. More recently, the focus has shifted to the role of intermediaries in supporting sustainable transitions. Despite the differences between the various types of intermediaries and the literature streams that analyse them, the bibliographic coupling shows that all strands of literature have a common theoretical basis, which includes the open innovation approach and revolves around the role of science parks and incubators.

Start-up collaboration units as knowledge brokers in Corporate Innovation Ecosystems: A study in the automotive industry

Start-up collaboration units (SCUs) are organizational units specifically created by large companies to facilitate collaboration with start-ups within their corporate innovation ecosystems (CIEs). The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of SCUs with reference to the transfer of knowledge between start-ups and large companies in collaborative innovation projects. An embedded case study was undertaken with three large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive sector. Interviews were conducted with managers of the three OEMs, of the intermediaries they collaborate with, and of the start-ups involved. Data were systematically coded and analyzed. The main barriers to knowledge exchange in partnerships between large companies and start-ups were identified, i.e. mismatches in the interpretation of knowledge and mismatches in the expectations of the partners. In addition, strategies have been identified that can be used by SCUs to facilitate knowledge flows, namely building networks, integrating communication, knowledge elicitation, orchestrating dialog, thinking outside the box, and increasing agility. This study is one of the first to focus on SCUs. It contributes to understanding collaborative innovation processes involving start-ups by studying the knowledge-broker role played by SCUs in the complex network of actors (large companies, start-ups, innovation intermediaries, public institutions) that make up a CIE.

The role of proximity in the design of innovation intermediaries' business models

Collaboration between science and industry is arguably more vital than ever to improve the capacity for advanced innovation and value creation. However, there is considerable diversity among the actors of innovation ecosystems, which raises the question of the roles and positions of specific actors: the innovation intermediaries. These are meant to be boundary organizations, developing proximity to favor collaborations. Spatial and non-spatial proximities are crucial in the innovation process and can be framed to better understand the role and configuration of innovation intermediaries, as well as the design of their business models. Based on a longitudinal case study of a new, atypical, intermediary organization within a French university, this research was conducted through an original perspective, articulating the business model with the proximity dimensions. The results reveal the nature and the role of proximity in the emergence and development of an innovation intermediary. The business model can frame the proximity choices and decisions. On a dynamic perspective, we reveal “proximity-making” processes shaping innovation intermediaries' business models, for their survival in complex environments. Beyond theoretical contributions, we finally present implications for universities, managers and policymakers.

Designing innovation contests to support external knowledge search in small and medium-sized enterprises

Companies are increasingly implementing ‘open’ search processes to access external knowledge. However, external knowledge search can be complex and costly, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have fewer resources than larger firms. In this context, innovation intermediaries may support firms in searching external knowledge, thus reducing the related costs and uncertainty. Specifically, innovation intermediaries may design and deliver innovation contests on behalf of their clients. Nonetheless, there is a lack of understanding on how innovation intermediaries can design innovation contests tailored on SMEs. Accordingly, we have developed a structured methodology for designing innovation contests to support SMEs in external knowledge search. This methodology was developed through an action research project that involved an Italian innovation intermediary. The paper contributes to the literature on knowledge search processes by presenting an approach that SMEs can adopt to perform external search. The study also contributes to the innovation intermediaries literature by investigating how they can enhance their impact on SMEs' innovation processes. We also investigate how innovation contests can be designed to be more effective for SMEs. Finally, the paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the importance of defining specific Open Innovation policies to improve SMEs' innovativeness.

Facilitating public procurement of innovation in the UK defence and health sectors: Innovation intermediaries as institutional entrepreneurs

This paper investigates how innovation intermediaries promote institutional change to facilitate public procurement of innovation (PPI). Several of the PPI implementation challenges reported in prior research originate in the institutional architecture underpinning demand articulation, and innovation procurement and adoption processes. We conceptualise innovation intermediaries as institutional entrepreneurs who seek to create new institutions or adjust existing ones to support PPI implementation. We report the results of two case studies of intermediaries facilitating PPI in the UK defence and health sectors, respectively. We contribute to PPI intermediation literature by showing that intermediaries address prevalent institutional failures through four types of institutional entrepreneurship activities: boundary spanning; advocacy; design of change; and capacity building. We elucidate, in particular, the role of individuals within intermediaries, as agents who learn about failures and adapt their institutional work over time. In doing so, these managers go beyond the remit and goals of the organisations they represent. The findings add to our understanding of how intermediaries support demand articulation for PPI by showing that their institutional work is also aimed at designing generic methods and processes to improve what is asked for, and how. We furthermore reveal conditions influencing the effectiveness of intermediaries' efforts to realise institutional change, thereby extending research on institutional entrepreneurship in PPI settings.

Closing competency gaps for circularity: Exploring partner dynamics for circular-oriented innovation

The implementation of circular initiatives requires certain capabilities and knowledge that traditional business models often lack, requiring new perspectives and external collaborations. While it is understood that partnerships can aid in innovation and provide knowledge and capabilities to firms, the dynamics of collaboration for the transition towards circular business models (CBMs) need to be explored to understand why and how collaboration works between partners. A qualitative and in-depth case study of a gap exploiter business model and three of its partners was conducted to gain insight into collaborative relationships for circular-oriented innovation (COI). The research builds upon the theoretical foundations of the resource-based view and organizational learning by extending them to collaboration for COI, and expands the understanding of a gap exploiter business model by connecting it to research on innovation intermediaries—highlighting how particular competences and aspects of a gap exploiter business model enable collaboration with partners. The research found that motivations for collaboration for COI for B2C linear companies are derived from a need to fill competency gaps, although some companies perceive the need to fill competency gaps as temporary before building their own, while others use collaboration to build long-term relationships. Competences needed for COI include a combination of tangible and intangible aspects, such as space, tools, storage for repair and reconditioning, but also governance and managerial structures to formalize the COI as well as knowledge, skills, shared values and vision to operationalize the COI. The competences that contribute the most to enabling collaboration mechanisms are based on the skills and knowledge needed to operationalize circular strategies, as well as company values of collaboration and building partner relations. This research provides several practical resources for companies that include business model blueprints of successful gap exploiter models, competence for COI categories for companies to map out where they will need specific competences, and how these competences along with the business model blueprints enable collaboration. Future research could further examine and evaluate the criticality, volatility, and dependency of the competences for both COI and collaboration.

Innovation intermediaries, knowledge infrastructure and technological opportunities in emerging markets: the case of research and technological centers in the Colombian agricultural sector

ABSTRACT Innovation literature has identified innovation intermediaries as essential actors in the innovation process that intermediate knowledge between the sources and users of innovation. Our research investigates how intermediaries strengthen less mature innovation systems in emerging economies by integrating the supply and demand of knowledge in agriculture through building knowledge infrastructures. We argue that these organizations become essential sources of technological opportunities in natural resource industries by nurturing less mature innovation systems and creating knowledge infrastructure. Our analysis of a subset of innovation intermediaries, fifteen Research and Technology Organizations in the Colombian agricultural sector, help to explain how these organizations fulfil their role of generating and disseminating scientific and technological knowledge. We highlight the importance of private and public funding, focalized public policy, and national and international collaboration to foster intermediaries’ research and development capabilities.

Effects of incorporating public innovation intermediaries on technology transfer performance: evidence from patent licensing of Japan’s Kohsetsushi

The incorporation of public organizations is meant to improve their efficiency and contribution to national and local economies. In Japan, incorporation has been implemented at the national and local levels since the late 1990s. This process alters the incentive system comprising intellectual property (IP) ownership, managerial freedom, and rent sharing, which promotes IP commercialization. This study assesses the economic consequences of the incentive system reform, taking the example of a public innovation intermediary, Kohsetsushi. Unlike the incorporation of national universities, the incorporation of Kohsetsushi is at the discretion of local governments. Therefore, there should be a comparative advantage for both incorporated and unincorporated Kohsetsushi. A dataset representative of both types of Kohsetsushi was established to estimate the average treatment effects on the treated (ATT), identify the type of selection into incorporation, and discuss the economic consequences of endogenous selection by local governments. The counterfactual analysis of licensing income revealed a negative ATT of incorporation and negative selection into not choosing incorporation. Incorporated Kohsetsushi would have had higher licensing income had they not been incorporated. The evidence does not support comparative advantage. The unintended consequence might have been caused by the lack of harmonization between the incentive and evaluation systems.

To Compete or Cooperate? A Case Study of Innovation and Creativity Labs in Berlin

Innovation intermediaries provide support during innovation processes and contribute to clients’ innovativeness. In a growing body of literature, innovation intermediaries are considered as knowledge brokers and boundary spanners in regional innovation systems. While previous studies have highlighted insights into intermediaries’ impact on clients, observations of their internal policies and working mechanisms remain scarce. Based on a case study of Berlin-based innovation and creativity labs, this paper sheds light on the innovation strategies chosen by intermediaries. I find that a distinct dualism of cooperation and competition shapes the innovation strategies of innovation intermediaries. The growing number of competitors and a lack of transparency shape the role of regional policy that offers information and market coordination. I present policy recommendations based on the results.

One World, Two Ideas and Three Adaptations: Innovation Intermediaries Enabling Sustainable Open Innovation in University–Industry Collaboration in Finland, Mexico and Nicaragua

Sharing global knowledge and practices while adapting them to local contexts is a central concern in innovation and sustainable development. In this paper, we examined how intermediary organisations promoting innovation can foster and enable the diffusion and local adaptation of knowledge, practices of open innovation and collaboration between universities, firms and social innovators. We studied three longitudinal, interlinked cases from Finland, Mexico and Nicaragua, moving from highly industrialised to emerging-economy contexts. We traced how innovation intermediaries support developing cultures of collaboration and the value co-creation by diffusing knowledge, getting actors together, sharing activities and supporting the engagement between organisations. Through observation, interviews, participatory action and self-reflection, we proposed a stepwise generic model for diffusion and adaptation. We argued that all steps and roles must co-exist to achieve successful transfers, and noted the evolutionary nature of the process and the importance of aligning the interests and activities of the actors. We contributed to sustainable development goals through the global diffusion of open innovation knowledge within the collaboration of universities, firms and social innovators. We noted the limitations of addressing three cases, while proposing directions for further research on the capabilities of actors, collaboration practices and the co-creation of value by actors.

Innovation Intermediaries: Literature Review, Synthesis, and Conceptual Framework

Innovation intermediaries are increasingly becoming an essential component of regional innovation ecosystems. Despite their rapid proliferation, they are often treated as peripheral actors in the literature with little regards to the way they emerge, change, improve and/or evolve overtime. In this paper, I systematically review the literature on innovation intermediaries with a particular emphasis on (1) the roles they assume, (2) the challenges they face, (3) and the value they provide. The results of this review reveal that, at the moment, we still lack a comprehensive account that allows for benchmarking the performance of innovation intermediaries in general, and their operating dynamics in particular. Building on the theory of social capital and adopting an intermediation-as-process approach, I identify three key innovation intermediation processes—legitimation, coordination, and generative appropriation—that explain the way these organizations create and capture value from their active involvement in the innovation process. I argue that reinforcing these three interrelated processes help drive the evolution and survival of innovation intermediaries as separate autonomous entities.

Enabling Innovation in The Philippine Rice Industry: The Roles and Key-Capabilities of Innovation Intermediaries

<p>The innovation studies literature finds that innovation intermediaries or innovation-enabling organizations perform roles that promote knowledge transfer, organizational development, and network collaboration. Furthermore, these organizations require building necessary key-capabilities that allow them to conduct these roles more successfully. However, a gap remains in understanding how intermediaries perform their roles and develop key-capabilities as global value chains and innovation systems interact, especially in agri-food business industries. This study chooses the Philippine rice industry as a case. It shows how innovation intermediaries in the industry support the upgrading, participation, and innovation of their stakeholders to compete against cheaper rice produced abroad. It provides several policy and management implications for maximizing the role performance and key-capability building of innovation intermediaries in agri-food business industries. This article is part of a more extensive dissertation on how innovation intermediaries in agri-food business industries perform roles and build key-capabilities as their organization types, value chain segment participation, and industry’s market orientation vary.</p>

Innovation ambidexterity and public innovation Intermediaries: The mediating role of capabilities

We lack an in-depth understanding of how the different roles played by public innovation intermediaries during their engagement in collaborative projects enable them to generate ambidexterity. By adopting a sequential mixed methods research design to gather data from 122 Research and Technology Organizations (RTOs) operating in Europe, the findings suggest that public innovation intermediaries performed two different roles in collaborative projects namely, knowledge integration and network building, and these have a differential impact on the generation of distinct types of in-house innovation. The knowledge integration role is conducive to exploratory innovation, whereas the network building role contributes to exploitative innovation. Importantly, relational, and internal capabilities mediate between these roles and innovation. Yet, this mediation effect varies depending on the nature of the public innovation intermediary’s role and innovation profile. How public innovation intermediaries should utilise their key roles to generate in-house ambidexterity is crucial in leveraging the impact of public funding in this area.

Innovation search: the role of innovation intermediaries in the search process

The aim of this paper is to explore how innovation search is conceptualised, given that firms increasingly use innovation intermediaries. The paper examines the search processes which involves the role of innovation intermediaries in different stages of the innovation search process. The study discovered that innovation search activity is a much more extended and complex process, not being as targeted or as specific than previously conceptualised, and involves a set of search stages, which are associated with a loosely coupled iterative search process. Innovation intermediaries were also discovered to be undertaking new, more extended roles in the search process, through, for example, combining new search procedures with online digital platforms.

Globally distributed talent communities: A typology of innovation problems and talent characteristics

AbstractAs the world moves toward the “New Normal” with borderless innovation and remote work, Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly involved in tapping talent that is external to organizational boundaries. This study distills learnings from the use of globally distributed external talent that has been facilitated by innovation intermediaries, a development that holds significant managerial implications for the post‐COVID industrial era. Moving beyond the conventional and recognized need for global talent management practices, we provide a perspective on talent management outside organizational boundaries, a topic that that has received limited attention so far. Through the lenses of open innovation and talent management, we define a typology of innovation problems on the basis of latent talent needs. We take a step further, and for each problem type, we identify the competencies that are relevant, the reward mechanisms of the intermediaries, and the extent of collaboration required with internal talent. This typology provides a basis for researchers in the talent management community to study talent acquisition and management strategies of MNEs across various contexts and various innovation needs.

Creating a Rainbow for Sustainability: The Case of Sustainable Beef

Sustainability is a complex, multi-dimensional issue that requires contributions from diverse disciplines, perspectives, and actors. Research and innovation are recognised as having the potential to help address some of the trade-offs and synergies associated with sustainability, and interactive innovation in particular offers many advantages. The beef sector has faced significant sustainability challenges in recent times, with criticisms relating to greenhouse gas (GHG) production, biodiversity, water quality, human health, and animal welfare, along with economic challenges to the viability of the sector. Furthermore, the low level of adoption of solutions proposed by research to address these challenges indicates the need for a pan-European multi-actor network to produce actionable and usable information to support European beef farmers. Drawing on practice-based research, the purpose of this exploratory paper was to examine how interactive innovation can be supported in a sector that, to date, has been the focus of limited interactive innovation efforts. It concluded that a “rainbow” of actors and diverse knowledges, along with different types of innovation intermediaries, can enhance the sustainability of the beef sector.

Innovation intermediaries as collaborators in shaping service ecosystems: The importance of dynamic capabilities

Innovation is increasingly a cocreative process centered on developing new solutions and (re)shaping service ecosystems. Recent research provides important insights into the capabilities keystone actors deploy to drive innovation in their role as a “shaper”. These studies highlight other non-focal actors as supporters of innovation, but their roles and capabilities in shaping service ecosystems are less clear. To address this gap, we study innovation intermediaries in the shaping of a service ecosystem that encompasses many service providers beyond a central keystone actor. Using data from multiple cases within a healthcare service ecosystem, we show how innovation intermediaries make connections among diverse organizations as both shapers and supporters of service-ecosystem shaping. Specifically, innovation intermediaries shape ecosystem configuration by organizing resources and relationships and support ecosystem governance by adapting institutional arrangements. Our data reveal that the integration of these shaper and supporter roles scaffold the enactment of a complex role of collaborator. This role is filtered through a recursive design feedback loop of reflexivity and reformation, and grounded in dynamic capabilities of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring. We find that the collaborator role is critical for co-designing joint value propositions and advancing the efforts of keystone actors to shape service ecosystems.

The Thai SME Open Innovation Food-Machinery Flexibility Model

Food machinery SMEs have been essential constitutional actors in Thailand’s food industry. Their participation in food innovation is considerably recognized. However, their innovation logics and practices remain poorly understood. To understand the role of open innovation (OI) in this change, specifically the OI logics and practices in new product development (NPD), the food-machinery framework has been chosen to analyze 109 NPDs in 2 Thai food machinery SMEs. This model identifies the various flows of knowledge between the different actors. The results demonstrated the new OI practices being absent from previous typologies, and six distinctive patterns within the same framework. These alternatives were revealed through the distinction between laboratory and industrial scales. The refined model demonstrated the ability of Thai SMEs to adjust OI logics and practices to the nature of the collaborative strategy associated with each NPD. Finally, the results exposed some Thai SMEs switching their business from generic machinery companies to innovation intermediaries.