Open Innovation Activities Research Articles

Digitalization as a facilitator of open innovation: Are family firms different?

This study analyzes the effect that a firm's level of digitalization has on its open innovation activities. Specifically, we argue that digitalization facilitates collaboration with a wider set of technology partners in the innovation process (i.e., breadth of technological collaboration). In addition, our arguments contend that certain socioemotional factors in the particular context of family firms may diminish this facilitating aspect. We test our ideas using panel data from a representative sample of Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2007–2017. We find support for the positive association hypothesized between digitalization and the breadth of technological collaboration. Contrary to our expectations, however, the positive effect of digitalization is more pronounced among family firms. We discuss the implications for the open innovation and family business literatures.

Exploring lead users' continued participation intention in crowdsourcing innovation community in China: the effects of network externalities

PurposeLead users are essential participants in crowdsourcing innovation events; their continuance intention significantly affects the success of the crowdsourcing innovation community (CIC). Although researchers have acknowledged the influences of network externalities on users' sustained participation in general information systems, limited work has been conducted to probe these relationships in the CIC context; particularly, the predictors of lead users' continued usage intention in such context are still unclear. Hence, this paper aims to explore the precursors of lead users' continuance intention from a network externalities perspective in CIC.Design/methodology/approachThis work ranked users' leading-edge status to recognize lead users in the CIC. And then, the authors proposed a research model based on the network externalities theory, which was examined utilizing the partial least squares (PLS) technique. The research data were collected from an online survey of lead users (n = 229) of a CIC hosted by a China handset manufacturer.FindingsResults revealed that the number of peers, perceived complementarity and perceived compatibility significantly influence lead users' continuance intention through identification and perceived usefulness.Originality/valueThis work contributes to the crowdsourcing innovation research and provides views regarding how lead users' sustained participation can be developed in the CICs. This work also offers an alternative theoretical framework for further research on users' continued intention in open innovation activities.

Driving policy support for open eco-innovation enterprises in Thailand: A probit regression model

Open eco-innovation, which involves collaborative processes to develop environmentally sustainable solutions with diverse stakeholders, heavily relies on collaboration. This study aims to address this research gap in open eco-innovation by (1) examining perceived support and participation in an open innovation program for SMEs, predicting the outcomes of open eco-innovation, and (2) providing a foundation for a targeted public policy program. A sample of 495 SMEs in Thailand was analyzed using multiple probit regressions to understand how different forms of support and participation in open innovation programs affect the probability of open eco-innovation. Findings indicate that SMEs with uncertain internal open innovation programs are more likely to decrease the predicted probability of open eco-innovation. For instance, Thai SMEs investing in R&D and network activities may lack a clear pathway to enhance their eco-innovation capabilities, resulting in reduced R&D alliances and joint ventures. Practically, it is advised that SMEs carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages of open innovation before developing eco-innovation capabilities. Moreover, the study offers empirical evidence on the open innovation activities that influence SMEs' engagement in open eco-innovation. From a policy perspective, policymakers should prioritize creating a supportive environment, such as enhancing green cooperation. The originality of this paper lies in the use of a probit regression model to analyze factors influencing open eco-innovation and a logic model to provide actionable steps for promoting it.

Impact of environmental policy on the innovation of SMEs: Chinese evidence

As environmental concerns continue to grow worldwide, the role of environmental policy in promoting sustainable development has become increasingly important. This study examines the impact of environmental policy on the innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in China, a country where environmental regulation has been rapidly expanding in recent years. The analysis employs a regression model that controls for various firm-level and environmental factors that may affect innovation. A loan guarantee may boost an SME’s chances of acquiring borrowed funds, the number of loans obtained, expenses, capital equipment expenditures, and TFP by 2%, 17.4%, 7.6%, 6.16%, and 5.26%, respectively. Furthermore, the influence of information networks on performance is examined. Environmental policy and open innovation activity, opposite transfer, investor interactions, and SMEs’ success are all examined, with a focus on Chinese SMEs. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider designing more targeted and flexible environmental policies that provide incentives for SMEs to innovate and adopt sustainable practices, while minimizing potential negative impacts on their competitiveness and financial performance.

Be open to failure: Open innovation failure in dynamic environments

Despite the considerable efforts made to investigate the factors that could potentially influence open innovation (OI), very little is understood about the impact of environmental factors such as dynamism. In addition, the question relating to the relationship between environmental factors and OI remains unresolved. Further, the conditions under which this relationship is more or less pronounced are also little understood. With our study, we examined these gaps through data collected from 209 emerging market small and medium enterprises (ESMEs) operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Our analyses show that environmental dynamism negatively influences OI and that this nexus is mediated by organizational learning culture. In addition, we found that the mediation effect of organizational learning culture is moderated by relational trust, in that it is improved at high levels of relational trust. Finally, we found that the organizational learning-OI nexus is moderated by firm size and industry type. These findings extend our knowledge of the role played by micro-environmental factors in OI activities.

Open innovation strategy and performance of SMEs in the IT industry located in Korea’s innovation clusters: the role of government subsidies

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)’ open innovation activities on performance, depending on the growth stage. It also studies the mediating effect of government subsidies on SMEs’ innovation performance. We collected data from 452 SMEs in the information technology (IT) industry located in Korea’s innovation clusters. The findings show that SMEs’ absorptive capacity and external network activities positively influence their performance, with stronger effects for SMEs in their mature growth stage. Moreover, a higher ratio of government subsidies in R&D investment positively mediates the relationship between external network activities and innovation performance. This study presents several implications for policymakers to support SMEs’ R&D activities using government subsidies.

Entrepreneurs: Gender and gendered institutions' effects in open innovation

The open innovation framework is particularly important for entrepreneurs, but related studies have not adequately explored the impact of institutions and important social constructs – such as gender or family embeddedness - on firm performance. Yet, these constructs may influence outcomes. To contribute to unraveling this unknown, we analyzed survey responses from 198 man and 188 women entrepreneurs in technology parks across China and found that gender played a significant role in how open innovation practices relate to firm performance, with women-led firms engaged in open innovation outperforming those led by men. This relationship strengthened as perceived institutional quality improved, yet it dissipated when women entrepreneurs were embedded in firms with family involvement. We posit that this is caused by differences in perceptions of institutional quality and gendered institutions, as family is in China, among genders. Our study, therefore, uses gender and gendered institutions to enrich the open innovation, family business, and entrepreneurship literature. We show that these factors influence entrepreneurs' perceptions of institutional quality and therefore play an important role in the performance outcomes of firms engaging in open innovation activities in a given institutional environment. Managerial summaryOur study shows that institutional support gained by being embedded within technology parks is important for entrepreneurs to engage in open innovation practices and the resulting performance benefits that accrue, which indicates that policymakers should focus on improving such support. In addition, our study shows that institutional quality is perceived differently by genders. The result is that women-led firms involved in open innovation perform significantly better than those led by men. This finding provides an important incentive for investors to engage with women entrepreneurs in technology parks. However, investors should also note that the performance benefits for women-led firms disappear when women entrepreneurs are embedded in firms with family involvement. Finally, managers of other firms in a technology park may benefit from the positive spillover effects of women-led firms engaging in open innovation activities.

The S-shaped relationship between open innovation and financial performance: A longitudinal perspective using a novel text-based measure

Research on the financial performance outcomes of open innovation has been equivocal and often relies on cross-sectional data and problematic assumptions about the role of the external context. A longitudinal perspective is crucial for gaining a better understanding of the potential of decreasing innovation utility as well as the conditions under which the costs of open innovation may counteract its benefits. Additionally, much of the research largely ignores the potential role and benefits of closed innovation. In this study, we address these issues by developing a theory related to how the benefits and costs of open innovation lead to an S-shaped relationship between the degree of openness – ranging from closed to low, medium, and high levels of open innovation – and a firm's financial performance. Furthermore, we investigate two possible contingencies in which this relationship is more pronounced: in industries with high appropriability, optimizing firms' ability to extract value from innovation and in dynamic industries, where coordinating high open innovation activities amid rapid changes is exceedingly costly. To test our hypotheses, we create a longitudinal measure for firms' degree of open innovation by using machine-learning content analyses to build an open innovation dictionary and then applying this dictionary to analyze the 10-K annual reports of >9000 publicly listed firms in the U.S. between 1994 and 2017. The results support our theorizing that the relationship between the degree of open innovation and firm financial performance is S-shaped and that industries' appropriability regimes and environmental dynamism are critical boundary conditions for this relationship.

Open-up or stay closed: the effect of TMT gender diversity on open innovation

PurposeDespite the importance of top management team (TMT) gender diversity in a firm's strategic decisions and the high degree of innovation activities that several firms have experienced in recent years, little or no research has examined how TMT gender diversity affects a firm's open innovation decision. The authors examine how TMT gender diversity impacts firms' open innovation activities. The authors further examine how this impact is affected by women executives' personal attributes and institutional conditions.Design/methodology/approachThe sample comprised of 62,745 firm-year observations (9,831 firms) from 25 countries from 1990 to 2010. The authors employed the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique to estimate the results.FindingsEmploying novel panel data on co-owned patents across 25 economies, the authors find that proportion of women in TMTs has a positive impact on open innovation activities. Moreover, the authors find that women managers' power and institutional gender parity strengthen the association between gender diversity and open innovation.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study indicate that firms committed to optimizing their open innovation policies and practices should include women in TMTs and create such conditions that are supportive for women executives to effectively express their innate inclinations. Importantly, our study supports the business case for gender diversity in top leadership positions by providing a compelling evidence for the positive impact of TMT gender diversity on open innovation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the gender diversity literature by showing how women leaders' values and character become embedded in their companies' strategy and present empirical evidence that having women in TMTs increase the likelihood of conducting open innovation. Further, the authors show how women executives' power and institutional level gender parity provide boundary conditions that moderate the relationship between TMT gender diversity and open innovation.

The role of communication in open innovation processes: an action research study in the automotive industry

ResumoObjetivoIdentificar las principales barreras y facilitadores que influyen en el papel de la comunicación en las actividades de innovación abierta en el contexto específico de una planta de ensamblaje en la industria de automoción.MetodologíaSe lleva a cabo un estudio de investigación de acción, en el que investigadores y profesionales emprenden un proyecto en una planta de ensamblaje de automóviles. Ambos definen objetivos duales, y se describen las etapas de la metodología de investigación en acción. Dentro de este estudios, la recolección de información se realiza a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas.ResultadosSe observa que las prácticas colaborativas se integran dentro de la cultura de la planta ensambladora. Esto se lleva a cabo de acuerdo con las necesidades específicas de la empresa, lo que limita la especificidad de los grupos de interés con los que colabora. En términos de comunicación, las funciones propuestas se evidencian en la práctica. Sin embargo, es recomendable sistematizar estas funciones y adquirir, en el caso de los profesionales de la comunicación, habilidades específicas para apoyar la integración de prácticas abiertas.OriginalidadAunque existen estudios que analizan la IA en automoción, el doble análisis de la comunicación y la planta de ensamblaje es original dentro del ámbito de esta literatura. La creación de un marco de referencia propio para este contexto puede ayudar a las empresas a determinar los aspectos claves para que la IA tenga una mayor relevancia en este tipo de plantas. Cabe destacar también que la utilización de la metodología de investigación en acción aporta un valor añadido y originalidad, en cuanto que fomenta las relaciones colaborativas empresa-universidad.

Pendekatan Open Innovation Pada Usaha Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) “Indococo” Oleh CV.Emka Indococo Sejahtera Di Kelurahan Sarongsong I Kecamatan Airmadidi Kabupaten Minahasa Utara

This study aims to identify open innovation practice on SMEs with focus on CV. Emka Indococo Sejahtera that produce VCO “Indococo” located in Kecamatan Airmadidi on North Minahasa Regency. This study was conducted from August to November 2022. Using primary data by collected through interviews with inventor of VCO “Indococo” i.e. Prof. Dr. Ir. Lucia C. Mandey, MS and used secondary data collected through Google Scholar such as books, journal article and literature reviews. Identification results showed that open innovation has applied on CV. Emka Indococo Sejahtera as their business strategy. With their position on topdown, strategically-driven, distributed activities, open innovation practices by CV. Emka Indococo Sejahtera showed that their business activities as a strategy related to open innovation activities so there is an encouraged to developed and more exploration open innovation implementation as a strategy to survive in the market in the future.

Research on Dynamic Capability and Enterprise Open Innovation

Chinese firms urgently need to use open innovation models to access external knowledge, resources, and skills to improve their internal innovation performance and achieve innovation catch-up. Using a dataset of joint patent applications of Chinese-listed manufacturing firms from 2006–2018, we construct a panel fixed-effects model to empirically test the effect of dynamic capabilities on firms’ open innovation. The results show that dynamic capabilities can effectively promote firms’ open innovation activities. In addition, the different dimensions of dynamic capabilities, namely sense capabilities, absorptive capabilities, complementary capabilities, and coordinative capabilities, also have significant incentive effects on firms’ open innovation. The results of the extended analysis show that dynamic capabilities have heterogeneous effects on the open innovation activities of different types of firms. Specifically, the impact of dynamic capabilities on open innovation is stronger for private firms, large and medium-sized firms, and multinational firms. The findings of this paper can provide important theoretical support and management insights for governments and enterprises to effectively manage the “paradox of openness” problem, thereby enhancing the firm’s innovation capability and achieving major bottleneck breakthroughs in key and core technologies.

КОНЦЕПЦІЯ ВІДКРИТИХ ІННОВАЦІЙ: ЗМІСТ ТА ПРАКТИКА ВИКОРИСТАННЯ

Today, the acceleration of globalization processes, the development of the IT sector, the use of artificial intelligence, and the creation of the digital single market change the external environment for innovation, affect the peculiarities of running the business in all sectors of the economy, encourage companies to implement the open innovation strategies and create more effective forms to engage partners in cooperation. The purpose of the paper is to consider the essence of the open innovation concept, the main features of its implementation for the formation of effective channels for interaction with partners, and the selection of effective models of financing for open innovation activity in the era of digital transformation and turbulence. The prerequisites for the emergence, directions of development, and spread of the open innovation concept have been determined. A feature of open innovation activity is the use of a joint approach and the involvement of the collective intelligence of a wide range of participants (partners, clients, representatives of the scientific community, and citizens) to solve a certain problem. The exchange of ideas, information, and knowledge is at the core of the open innovation concept, its core is transparent cooperation between individual participants of the innovation process at various stages of its development. The key aspects of building effective channels of interaction with partners for the implementation of open innovations have been characterized. It has been found that an important role in implementing the open innovation model is played by targeted knowledge flows, which are used both for accelerating innovation processes within the company and for more effective use of innovations in the external environment. It has been determined, that there are appropriate financing models to attract investments for the implementation of open innovations. Venture funds, external accelerators, and spin-offs can be used by large businesses; external business incubators, business angels, startup scouting, crowdfunding, and hackathons – for medium and small businesses.

A Study on the Effect of Open Innovation Activities on Digital Transformation Capability and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwanese SMEs

A Study on the Effect of Open Innovation Activities on Digital Transformation Capability and Firm Performance: Evidence from Taiwanese SMEs

Open Innovation in Ecuadorian SMEs: The Importance of Strategy and the Moderating Effect of Control

ABSTRACTOpen innovation (OI) has been appointed as a key factor to promote innovative performance, but some research gaps remain especially when it comes to SMEs in developing countries. This article deals with (1) the effect of formalization of innovation strategy on OI activities in SMEs, (2) the impact of OI activities on SMEs’ innovative performance, and (3) the moderating role played by control on the relationship between inbound and outbound activities and the innovative performance. OI encompasses a range of innovative methods and procedures in firms to stimulate internal innovation and widen the external use of innovation (inbound and outbound). In this work, an empirical study is carried out on 543 Ecuadorian SMEs. The results show that the formalization of the innovation strategy promotes OI activities, both inbound and outbound. While outbound activities carried out by SMEs enhance innovative performance, this positive effect is only identified for inbound open innovation activities when control exists and increases, acting this variable as a moderating factor. These results have important implications both for the management of companies and the development of public policies aimed at promoting OI in SMEs in developing countries. This research contributes to the literature as it deals with a developing country context and considers a wide range of OI activities.

Effects of Technology Endowment on Open Innovation Success in Medium-Sized Enterprises in Kenya

Technology is an infrastructural enabler that ensures success of open innovation (OI) activities in modern enterprises. The Kenyan experience indicates that the OI success strategy for medium enterprises (MEs) hinges on endowment of technological capabilities in operation and management of MEs. Notwithstanding, the aggregate entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of firms seems to be a determining factor in connecting the technological investment and stakeholders’ collaboration to activate the innovation potential of MEs. This study sought to determine the moderating role of EO on the relationship between firms’ technological endowment and OI success of service and manufacturing MEs in Kenya. The data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) Version 23 and Smart PLS3 application software. The formulated hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. The results showed that Technology positively influences OI success; however, they did not confirm that EO moderates the Technology and OI success relationship. While the study recommends a strategic investment in Technology to enhance OI success, it also advises further research into the dynamics of the triple relationship between Technology, EO and OI Success to optimize their combination for enhanced organizational innovation.

How to Find the Right Partner? Open Innovation Partner Selection Process

The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of the partner selection process for open innovation. The inability to choose partners can lead to problems such as opportunistic behavior, the failure of open innovation, and a reluctance to collaborate. Therefore, partner selection is crucial in open innovation. Attention is directed to the determining factors that must be considered in the selection of a partner. The contents of the paper are mainly based on in-depth interviews with experts and practitioners who represent both organizations and individuals as actors in open innovation activities. The results show that complementarity, compatibility, and trust are important considerations in selecting the right partner. The implication of this research is that a managerial approach is needed that supports the company’s ability to find and evaluate external sources of knowledge to support innovation. The originality of this article is to provide an understanding that the existence of an organization in a network helps organizations access external knowledge resources. Involving external parties in the company’s innovation process accelerates innovation. In this case, getting the right partner is very important.

THE ANTECEDENTS OF BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATION IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES) DURING COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

Purpose – This study replicates ideas of Cheng and Chen (2013) to determine the effects of dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities on breakthrough innovation. Based on the Resource-based view of the firm (RBV) and dynamic capabilities view (DC), the authors seek to argue that dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities significantly affect breakthrough innovation positively in a turbulent environment.
 Design/methodology/approach – Based on a cross-sectional design, a questionnaire was distributed to a sample size of Zimbabwean 300 SMEs management. The target respondents were the business owners and managers who had wide knowledge and understanding in leadership. The survey’s data were analysed through regression.
 Findings – The findings supported the argument that dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities positively and significantly affect breakthrough innovation.
 Practical implications – Business owners and managers must realise the critical rationale of SMEs dynamic innovation capabilities and open innovation activities in fostering breakthrough innovation.
 Originality/value/contribution – This study added to the existing literature that survival and growth of SMEs must promote and support emerging industries even in an uncertain environment (e.g. Covid 19 pandemic environment), with activities that foster breakthrough innovation.

Open innovation and SME performance: The roles of reverse knowledge sharing and stakeholder relationships

Although Small-to-Medium-sized-Enterprises (SMEs) frequently make vital contributions to both national and global economics and innovations, the relative influences of Open Innovation (OI) on SME performance is inconsistently argued in the literature. This study is set to fill this gap through an investigation of the details and dynamics of SMEs’ engagement in OI. Further, its impact on performance, through the perspective of knowledge networking, is examined. Specifically, this study investigates the relationships between OI activities, reverse-knowledge sharing, stakeholder relationship and SMEs performance in a context of numerous Vietnamese industries. Results revealed that OI activities are statistically insignificant when related to SMEs’ overall performance. However, it should be noted that OI indirectly affects SME performance through the mediation effect of reverse-knowledge sharing and the moderation effect of stakeholder relations. Practical implications and theoretical potential for future research are discussed.

International Open Innovation Strategies of Firms in European Peripheral Regions

The involvement of companies in different open innovation activities, through knowledge outputs and inputs, has become increasingly important for the success of companies. However, the existing literature on open innovation is scarce concerning the internationalization process of companies. The internationalization of companies is fundamental in the continuous search to increase the performance of companies externally. The objective of the present research is to explain the strategic processes in the internationalization of companies located in peripheral regions at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of dynamic capabilities. The sample used for this research is composed of seven Portuguese companies. The methodology of qualitative nature is exploratory and uses a case study approach. Regarding the foremost modes of operation in international markets and strategies, we find that (1) companies have partnerships with local distributors or appoint exclusive importers/distributors, and (2) companies prefer to place their products in the market through their brand, “co-branded” projects with retailers, or “private label” projects. Of the seven companies under study, six use a standardization strategy, and one opts for a configuration-coordination strategy. Our findings clarified the literature on export and internationalization strategies in a peripheral country, allowing a closer incept of the organizational and dynamic capabilities and an overview of the supporting tools these companies have to compete in the global market. Our study is original because few articles study the internationalization strategies of companies at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and in peripheral regions of Europe.