Open Innovation Projects Research Articles

What Skills for Multi-Partner Open Innovation Projects? Open Innovation Competence Profile in a Cluster Ecosystem Context

Industry 4.0 and the turbulent environment have rendered increasing interest in open innovation that extends from the bilateral transmission of expertise to multilateral platform collaborations. Open innovation ventures are seen as intricate collaborations that require the commitment of numerous partners during the lifetime of the project. In order to examine the specific competence of open innovation teams, we set the research question as follows: What individual competencies facilitate the exchange of knowledge in open innovation projects? We explored the theoretical framework of open innovation and collected information from a nation-wide, cross-industrial set of OI projects from three high-performing clusters, facilitating a total of 102 OI projects to identify open innovation competence dimensions, thus creating a novel profile. The outcomes showed that competencies facilitate the exchange of knowledge in open innovation ventures in distinct ways. Our findings showed that open innovation competence can be captured using a profile with the dimensions of creativity, entrepreneurship, communication and networking, open-minded thinking, risk-taking, and self-efficacy in digital skills. These dimensions of the open innovation competence profile are necessary for cluster project set-up. This analysis demonstrated that components of the open innovation competence profile could be paramount in understanding the underlying factors in the success of collaborative innovation projects.

The Role of Culture in Managing Open Innovation Projects within Regional Clusters

The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the cultural barriers to open innovation projects within Moroccan clusters. Based on a qualitative approach, 22 semi-structured interviews with the representatives of four categories of open innovation project members within the three Moroccan clusters were conducted. The results demonstrate how certain aspects of national culture influence partners’ behaviour in open innovation projects within innovation clusters, and what dimensions of the organisational culture of the members involved in these projects should be modified to match better with an open innovation paradigm. The findings confirm that only organizations with strong dynamic capabilities will be able to take full advantage of open innovation practices and that one of the three high-level dynamic capabilities is transformation capability that is about transforming organizational culture by promoting the open innovation culture.

Fostering knowledge sharing: Design principles for persuasive digital technologies in open innovation projects

Integrating knowledge is crucial for open innovation, and digital technologies can play a central role because they support knowledge sharing. In open innovation projects, in particular, little is known about the role of technology. Here, the individual behaviour of users is taken into account concerning the extent to which knowledge is shared. Therefore, persuasive technologies offer the potential to foster sharing. In particular, to facilitate the construction of future digital technologies, this study applies a design science research approach to create and analyse artefacts as a research contribution and develop design principles as a step towards a nascent design theory. We present insights from the design and application of three artefacts in different stages of open innovation processes. Results show that digital technologies can be used for various purposes: to build a common understanding, support design phases, communicate ideas and simplify the application of the technology for the user. Our research provides insights into the role of digital technologies for knowledge sharing in open innovation projects, and four design principles are found to facilitate the construction of future persuasive digital technologies for open innovation projects.

The role of similarity and complementarity in the selection of potential partners for open innovation projects in family firms

Despite the increasing importance of open innovation endeavors, the process by which firms select partners for open innovation is not well understood. Even less is known about how family firms, which are characterized by their resource scarcity and desire for control, handle these processes. We aim to address this gap in the literature by investigating this selection process using a qualitative approach. Our findings are based on data gathered in 53 interviews from ten case studies and expert interviews, as well as secondary data. We find that, in order to engage in collaboration, family firms must manage their perceptions of the similarities and complementarities between themselves and their potential partner and integrate these into an accepted level of anticipated fit. During the selection phase, the elements of fit are weighed in light of the openness of the given firm and preferred levels and mechanisms of control, which are influenced by the family in the family firm. If the fit is deemed sufficient to enter into a partnership, the partnership is then advanced to the collaboration phase, where anticipated fit is translated into experienced fit, and aspects of similarity and complementarity are reassessed; this may potentially end existing partnerships, feeding back to future evaluations of fit and accordingly influencing future partnerships.

Integrating Open Innovation into Customer Projects as a Strategy for SMEs

This paper studies how two high-tech SMEs exploit their cooperation with large corporate clients to develop and successfully implement their Open Innovation (OI) process (Chesbrough 2003; Brunswicker & Vanhaverbeke, 2015). Based on a case of radical innovation in the software industry, it highlights the original embedded OI strategy carried out by these SMEs) to compensate for their lack of resources (Dahlander & Gann, 2010) and to limit their innovation risks (Wynarczyk et al., 2013). Based on the analysis of an OI project involving two SMEs and a large company, our work suggests two main contributions to the literature on the implementation of OI in SMEs (Usman et al., 2018). Our first contribution highlights the original strategy of the SMEs to embed their OI project in client projects. The objective is then to exploit the capabilities of large companies (Tobiassen & Pettersen, 2018) and minimize their innovation risk while maintaining their autonomy. Our second contribution concerns the client capabilities which are materialized in their double role: a role of project director (Usman et al., 2017) and a role of collective exploration architect. These contributions suggest a new model for open innovation in SMEs where the large company client is neither positioned as an intermediary nor as an actor in the OI project. This model adapted to the exploration phase of innovation process could serve as a basis for other research work involving high-tech SMEs and large companies (Radziwon & Bogers, 2019) that are their clients, in order to enrich it and validate its relevance, particularly in other sectors. Our work suggests several managerial implications for SMEs wishing to exploit the skills of large groups to carry out their Open Innovation project. In the implementation of their embedded Open Innovation strategy, SMEs managers must select the client with which to cooperate by qualifying their capabilities (budget, availability and skills) and their experience in managing complex projects. They must also ensure that they maintain their autonomy from large companies by retaining leadership of their project (dedicated project manager and team) and their ability to exploit their innovation on their own.

Governing the interplay of inter-organizational relationship mechanisms in open innovation projects across ecosystems

More and more self-interested businesses are organizing themselves in interdependent, non-hierarchically controlled networks to jointly create superior value by engaging in open innovation projects. In aligning the heterogeneous actors toward a focal value proposition, it is crucial for the orchestrators of such arrangements to manage their inter-organizational relationships by navigating the interplay of contractual and relational governance mechanisms. Despite the relevance of how contracts and relational governance co-evolve, knowledge on the interaction of contracts and relational governance in specific contexts is still missing. Through a multiple-case study of ten multinational ecosystem orchestrators, we explore how large multinational orchestrators govern the interplay inter-organizational relationship mechanisms in open innovation projects across ecosystems. Based on our findings, we propose a five-dimensional, sequential model of governing the interplay of inter-organizational relationship mechanisms in open innovation projects across ecosystems and discuss our contributions in the context of the current literature.

The fine line between success and failure: an analysis of open innovation projects

PurposeDespite the multiple calls for research on the dark side of open innovation, very few studies have approached the topic so far. This study aims to analyse successful and unsuccessful open innovation projects.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses thematic analysis to describe the factors determining their (un)success. The researchers interviewed 27 managers and owners in the manufacturing sector. Then, the respondents were asked to discuss one successful and one unsuccessful open innovation project to explore the differences in triggers and setbacks, focusing on the causes that determined the failures.FindingsFindings show that many interviewees are reluctant to identify failure cases, which somewhat explains the paucity of studies on the topic, and others do so when the failure is recognised by a third party (such as a public institution not granting funds to the project). This study discussed how this phenomenon is linked with the paradoxical relation between innovation success and failure. It is also found that triggers and setbacks determining the project's (un)success are markedly differently based on the technological intensity of the firm. Implications for scholars and practitioners are also drawn.Originality/valueThis study provides a balanced view between open innovation successes and failures to offer informative recommendations to practitioners. Furthermore, it contributes to filling the scarcity of studies related to risks and failures of open innovation projects. This gap has been addressed by studying the factors that determine the success and unsuccess of an open innovation project.

Navigating collaborative open innovation projects: Staging negotiations of actors' concerns

Open innovation has attracted significant attention as companies respond to increasing innovative complexities by opening their organizational boundaries to interact with stakeholders along the innovation funnel. However, knowledge from customers and users is not always easily translated into solutions that can be commercialized. Micro‐level challenges of open innovation projects that might be impeding commercialization remain under‐explored in the literature. To address this research gap, we use a collaborative staging approach inspired by actor‐network theory to focus on micro‐level negotiations of actors' concerns at the project level. Analysing data collected via ethnographic research and participant observation in a longitudinal qualitative case study, we investigate how managers and designers navigated value creation and capture when conceptualizing an app for hospitalized stroke patients. Our findings reveal an action‐oriented staging approach to collaborative open innovation efforts and selective enactment of business models depending on whether the focus is value capture or value creation. Furthermore, we point to a repertoire of staging moves that managers and designers can use to facilitate productive negotiations and network alignment as value creation opportunities co‐evolve and to conceptualize value offers in collaborative open innovation processes.

The role of open innovation hubs and perceived collective efficacy on individual behaviour in open innovation projects

The effectiveness of a company's open innovation (OI) strategy strongly depends on the performance of the innovation projects it launches. However, OI research has dedicated only scant attention to the role played by the behaviour of individuals involved in these projects. This study focuses on the role played by an open innovation hub (OIH), an in‐house unit supporting and accelerating OI initiatives, and investigates how OIHs influence the innovative behaviour of employees involved in innovation projects. In particular, this study employs social cognitive theory as a theoretical lens and investigates the role of project members' collective efficacy. Specifically, we developed two hypotheses that were tested using empirical analysis, with survey data from 134 individuals involved in OI projects and operating in 16 Japanese companies. Our study contributes to the literature by illuminating how the perceived collective efficacy of the employees involved in an innovation project influences their behaviours. We find that the support offered by an OIH strengthens the project members' perceived collective efficacy and, in turn, supports their innovative behaviour.

Problem Types and Open Innovation Governance Modes: A Project-Level Empirical Exploration

Irrefutable evidence shows that greater openness toward external partners enhances a firm's ability to solve innovation-related problems. To manage open innovation (OI) projects, firms use a variety of governance modes, including market-based contracts, platform intermediaries, and equity and non-equity partnerships. While innovation projects can be very diverse and characterized by various attributes, such as complexity and knowledge hiddenness, only a few conceptual studies have hitherto considered project attributes as drivers of OI governance mode selection. Using a sample of 85 OI projects and a set of illustrative cases, this article explores empirically how project attributes influence OI governance mode selection. This empirical study advances previous conceptual work on OI governance. By accounting for project-level heterogeneity, we explore the microfoundations of OI and provide more stable and fundamental insights into OI governance than previous industry- and firm-level analyses did. In addition, we suggest that effective OI management depends on matching project attributes with the benefits and costs of specific governance modes. Finally, we argue that this study enhances understanding and conceptualization of the relationship between project complexity and decomposability in the context of OI.

Assessment of the advancement of market-upstream innovations and of the performance of research and innovation projects

The assessment of the advancement of technological innovations at their development stage is a difficult task, but important to judge on the performance of innovation projects. Assessments have so far been made by assessing technical characteristics, subjectively, or by counting patents. This paper proposes an approach to assess the advancement of market-upstream innovations directly and objectively, through the advancement of their technological maturity. On this basis, also the innovation performance of larger projects that were put in place to progress one or several innovations, can be assessed. The paper presents an exploratory qualitative multi-case study of 54 innovative technologies at different maturity levels, that were developed in 5 market-upstream large technological research and innovation projects with mostly engineering and IT dimensions, funded by the European Union’s Research and Innovation Programmes under its sub-programme “Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies”. From extensive documentation and data from interviews, a refined technology readiness scale and a scoring method that reflects the increase in the required efforts to advance the maturity of the innovations is developed. The findings provide groundwork for future research on market-upstream innovation and how the innovation performance of projects can be measured at the early stages of the innovation process.

When is interorganizational learning beneficial for inbound open innovation of ventures? A contingent role of entrepreneurial orientation

Inbound open innovation for purposive knowledge acquisition and generation is a viable strategy for new ventures to fill out internal knowledge gaps through external innovation networks. However, the smallness and newness liabilities to which the firms are subject can restrict their potential to take increased innovation returns of inbound-oriented activities. Against this practical issue, we test assumptions that employing interorganizational learning (IOL) is beneficial for ventures to achieve better inbound open innovation performance and that the performing-by-learning mechanism is contingent on their entrepreneurial posture for productive knowledge utilization, referring to entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Findings from an analysis of 218 inbound open innovation projects of ventures demonstrate that firms showing higher exploitative and exploratory IOL practices enjoy greater technological and business performance, corresponding to the value creation and capture of inbound open innovation. Furthermore, EO serves as a significant moderator to leverage the advantages of exploratory learning for technological performance and exploitative learning for business performance. This study contributes to the literature by adding original findings that the entrepreneurial mode of interactions at the external innovation networks is essential for ventures to orchestrate the distinctive yet reciprocal functions of exploitative and exploratory learning in capitalizing on network-available knowledge. In practice, institutionalizing the IOL–EO nexus in the firms’ inbound-oriented activities legitimizes the contingent rationality for increased innovation returns in technology and business.

AN OVERVIEW OF BENEFITS AND RISKS IN OPEN INNOVATION PROJECTS AND THE INFLUENCE OF INTERMEDIARY PARTICIPATION, DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY, EXPERIENCE, AND POSITION ON THEIR PERCEPTION

This paper presents an exploratory study investigating the influence of the factors (1) intermediary participation, (2) decision-making authority, (3) position in the enterprise, and (4) experience in open innovation on the perception and assessment of the benefits and risks expected from participating in open innovation projects. For this purpose, an online survey was conducted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The result of this paper is an empirical evidence showing whether and how these factors affect the perception of potential benefits and risks expected within the context of open innovation project participation. Furthermore, the identified effects are discussed against the theory. Existing theory regarding the benefits and risks of open innovation is expanded by (1) finding that they are perceived mostly independently of the factors, (2) confirming the practical relevance of benefits and risks, and (3) enabling a finer distinction between their degrees of relevance according to respective contextual specifics.

Implementing the Co-Immune Open Innovation Program to Address Vaccination Hesitancy and Access to Vaccines: Retrospective Study.

BackgroundThe rise of major complex public health problems, such as vaccination hesitancy and access to vaccination, requires innovative, open, and transdisciplinary approaches. Yet, institutional silos and lack of participation on the part of nonacademic citizens in the design of solutions hamper efforts to meet these challenges. Against this background, new solutions have been explored, with participatory research, citizen science, hackathons, and challenge-based approaches being applied in the context of public health.ObjectiveOur aim was to develop a program for creating citizen science and open innovation projects that address the contemporary challenges of vaccination in France and around the globe.MethodsWe designed and implemented Co-Immune, a program created to tackle the question of vaccination hesitancy and access to vaccination through an online and offline challenge-based open innovation approach. The program was run on the open science platform Just One Giant Lab.ResultsOver a 6-month period, the Co-Immune program gathered 234 participants of diverse backgrounds and 13 partners from the public and private sectors. The program comprised 10 events to facilitate the creation of 20 new projects, as well as the continuation of two existing projects, to address the issues of vaccination hesitancy and access, ranging from app development and data mining to analysis and game design. In an open framework, the projects made their data, code, and solutions publicly available.ConclusionsCo-Immune highlights how open innovation approaches and online platforms can help to gather and coordinate noninstitutional communities in a rapid, distributed, and global way toward solving public health issues. Such initiatives can lead to the production and transfer of knowledge, creating novel solutions in the public health sector. The example of Co-Immune contributes to paving the way for organizations and individuals to collaboratively tackle future global challenges.

Fostering sustainable growth in aeronautics: Open social innovation, multifunctional team management, and collaborative governance

• Collaborative governance enables stakeholder engagement and high performance. • Collaboration with suppliers is a strategic issue in fostering sustainable growth. • Multifunctional teams enhance the quality of the decision-making process. • Multifunctional teams are a key success factor of open social innovation projects. • Cultural and organizational diversity produces original and disruptive ideas. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how open social innovation projects led by multifunctional, interorganizational, and international teams can contribute to sustainable value creation and growth in a context of collaborative governance. An in-depth case study of Airbus, the global aeronautics business leader, was conducted. The discussion reveals the importance of turning strategic suppliers into long-term partners and collaborating with a wide variety of public and private organizations. Business leaders should be audacious and aim for market disruption to implement sustainable processes and develop sustainable products. Efficient collective knowledge management is essential for the success of open social innovation projects and for lasting sustainable growth.

Analiza spremnosti telekomunikacionih operatera za "crowd" - zasnovane otvorene inovacije u razvoju servisa pametnih gradova

This paper studies the readiness of the Serbian telco operators and other stakeholders to implement a crowd-based open innovation business model. Telco companies are facing challenges in terms of market demands and with finding new opportunities to attract subscribers with innovative products and services. These innovations are frequently oriented towards smart city services based on emerging technologies such as Internet of things, cloud computing, software defined networks and blockchain. Due to complexity, pace and costs of research and development, telco operators have already recognized the need to shift from a traditional to an open innovation concept. The development of crowdsourcing models has further fueled the possibility to include customers in the open innovation process, in order to better design and develop services suited to their own needs. With this in mind, the goal of this paper is to propose a crowd-based open innovation business model for improvement of innovation capacities of Serbian telco operators. The proposed model is used as the basis of evaluating the readiness of internal and external stakeholders for participation in open innovation projects. The study is based on the adjusted value-based adoption model, while the analysis is performed using the PLS-SEM method. The results show that participants identify trust as the most influential factor for the perceived value of crowd-based open innovation, while the internal stakeholders of telco companies find expected income and reputation as the most relevant. Both groups have shown a high interest in innovations related to smart city services such as smart traffic and ecology-related services.

Balancing knowledge sharing with protecting: The efficacy of formal control in open innovation projects

A key challenge in open innovation (OI) projects relates to the tension of facilitating open knowledge exchange processes while ensuring sufficient protection to avoid knowledge leakage. Although prior research has discussed several solutions to balance sharing with protecting, these practices either tend to lay too much or not enough emphasis on knowledge protection. In this article, we complement current research by examining whether the formal control mechanisms, prespecified behaviors and prespecified outcomes, may serve as more efficacious project management solutions. We investigate their effect on OI project performance and knowledge leakage and compare their influence with that of contracts, using a data set of 106 new product OI projects in high-technology industries. We find that prespecified behaviors influence project performance in the form of an inverted U-shape, while prespecified outcome increases project performance in a linear fashion. Contracts decrease knowledge leakage while having no influence on project performance. Our study contributes to a more elevated understanding of the role of project management in coping better with the inherent sharing-protecting tension in OI.

A model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation: proposition and application with the case of GOL Airlines

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the risks associated with managing the dispersed knowledge in inter-organizational arrangements for innovation. Specifically, it proposes a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, applied in four steps.Design/methodology/approachInitially, the authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the concepts that connect knowledge management, inter-organizational arrangements for innovation and risks. The SLR results led to a complementary theoretical review on the conceptual elements in question. Based on the findings, the authors have developed a model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which was validated by experts. It was then studied the case of GOL Airlines, a company that uses innovation to overcome the paradox between low-cost and full service in the commercial air transportation industry, considering the application and adjustment of the proposed model.FindingsOpen innovation is one of the inter-organizational arrangement types most applied in the context of innovation. Relations between agents are the primary sources of risks when managing the dispersed knowledge in these arrangements. The authors have found five main risks associated, namely, risk of the innovative effort does not reach the expected objective, risk of knowledge transfer being ineffective, risk of misappropriation of value, risk of dependency (lock-in) and risk of relations.Practical implicationsThe practical implication is the proposition of a procedure for applying the model to analyze the knowledge management risks in open innovation, which makes it a prescriptive model for identifying risks. The proposed model is described in four steps, namely, to identify the agents in the environment of the value of open innovation; to identify the types of relations of each agent; to consider the barriers to knowledge management in innovation; and to assess the risks considering the possibilities derived from the agents, their relationships and the barriers. The model is applied in the GOL case and the results are presented.Originality/valueFirst, it uses a novel approach to investigate open innovation while studying its risks. This approach considers the knowledge is dispersed and flows from one organization to another through a combination of relations inside the environment of value where the open innovation materializes. Second, it contributes to theory development by opening a research front that fuses four areas: risk management, knowledge management, innovation and inter-organizational arrangements. Third, this paper proposes a theoretical model and presents its operationalization. The study aims to make an impact beyond academia and uses a case study to illustrate the model application in a real and interesting open innovation project to support the business model at GOL Airlines.

Factors Influencing Collaborative Innovation Project Performance: The Case of China

This study conducted a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the influencing factors for collaborative innovation project (CIP) performance. First, a theoretical framework model was constructed, and then a structural equation model (SEM) was used for an empirical analysis of 199 CIPs. Furthermore, we divided the factors into tangible and intangible categories and considered the impact mechanism of nine typical factors on project performance. The results are as follows: (1) All nine factors had a significant positive impact on the performance of collaborative innovation projects, among which benefit distribution and collaborative innovation capability were the most important. (2) Benefit distribution, resource dependence, organizational climate, and collaborative innovation affected project performance, both directly and indirectly. (3) Effective communication, leadership support, knowledge sharing, and collaborative innovation ability only had a direct influence, while the incentive mechanism played only an indirect role. Finally, three suggestions were put forward on the idea of high-quality, sustainable development.

Exploring Competing Perspectives on How to Design Open Innovation Program for High School STEM Education: A Case Study

Open innovation (OI) has become an essential business model for big tech companies and innovation ecosystems. However, most STEM high schools in the United States do not have appropriate OI programs for students. This paper explores how various perspectives on open innovation as an emerging trend in the entrepreneurial ecosystem can link with STEM education programs. We use the Q methodology technique with interviews from students and managers of STEM education at C Academy and academic members from a field of open innovation. Twenty-three participants responded to the 35 Q statements derived from preliminary findings of critical issues on a relationship between open innovation and STEM education. Five key perspectives compete, each with a unique view on why STEM education matters and how to renovate the current STEM program for an open innovation-based curriculum and club activities inside and outside high schools. Empirical findings from Q method analysis combined with Promax rotation illustrate five views: (1) civic virtue-driven open innovation, (2) open innovation with imagination from arts and culture, (3) daily life-based open innovation project, (4) critics on conventional STEM education, and (5) community service-driven open innovation. A common area that all five perspectives support is that the government should expand and strengthen support in the design and operation of open innovation education programs in STEM high schools.