Open Innovation Research Articles

Open innovation for the competitiveness of the construction sector

Open innovation for the competitiveness of the construction sector

The potential of open innovation platforms: driving sustainable development goals through digital collaboration

ABSTRACT Open innovation is a pivotal driver of organisational growth. This concept involves engaging external partners and leveraging diverse knowledge sources, leading to significant advancements in sustainability. With the rise of digital platforms, the potential for open innovation to foster sustainable development has increased. However, the literature on the intersection of digitalisation, open innovation, and sustainability remains sparse and fragmented. This study aims to bridge this research gap by exploring how digital platforms facilitate open innovation practices and their impact on sustainability, particularly in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By creating a comprehensive database from scientific literature published between 2019 and June 2024, this research compiles a wide range of applications, case studies, and proposed implementations of open innovation platforms. Exploratory analysis maps the landscape of these practices, focusing on their sectoral applications, technologies involved, and business impacts. Text mining techniques are employed to identify patterns and key elements within the dataset. This analysis reveals how open innovation platforms contribute to sustainability, highlighting areas where they are most effective and identifying gaps for future research. The findings offer theoretical and practical insights, providing a detailed understanding of the current state of open innovation in the digital age, and their implications for sustainable development. This study aims to inform practitioners and policymakers about leveraging digital platforms to enhance sustainability efforts.

Open Innovation and Regulatory Challenges in New Modality Development: The Pivotal Role of Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisations in Advancing Antibody Drugs.

Ensuring regulatory-compliant manufacturing capability is an essential challenge for new treatment modalities, but its internalisation is not easy for pharmaceutical companies, especially start-ups. This study examines the functions and requirements of contracted development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) using the development process of antibody medicines as a case study. Utilizing PubMed, Cortellis and Patent Integration databases, this study delves into publication and contractual trends in monoclonal antibody drugs (mAbs) development, alongside an analysis of patent filings by CDMOs, offering a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape in mAbs innovation. In the early stages of mAbs development, dedicated bio firms (DBFs) led R&D with superior drug discovery technology but lacked manufacturing capability, which was complemented by CDMOs. This collaboration was an opportunity for CDMOs to expand their capabilities beyond manufacturing technology into antibody drug candidate discovery and structural optimisation technology. From mid-development onwards, it established a technology platform based on these capabilities and developed and established partnerships with existing pharmaceutical companies, including mega pharma. The impact of institutions and regulations on the innovation process was assessed during this development process. These findings are expected to provide valuable insights into the innovation system for new modalities.

An Analysis of Critical Factors Affecting the Success of Open Innovation Strategies in High-Tech Firms: The Case of South Korea

High-tech firms face constant innovation and challenges due to a rapidly changing tech environment. Open innovation strategies are an important solution for fostering rapid and efficient innovation by leveraging external capabilities. This study explores the critical factors that influence open innovation strategies in high-tech companies, assessing their importance and providing key insights for promoting these strategies. Through a comprehensive literature review and expert interviews, 16 key factors impacting open innovation were identified. A hierarchical research model was developed using the ser-M (subject, environment, resource, mechanism) framework, focusing on subject, environment, resource, and mechanism for a corporate strategy analysis. A survey and an AHP analysis were conducted with 30 participants, comprising engineers and open innovation experts, all with over a decade of experience in the field within Korean high-tech companies. The analysis focused on four critical elements: subject, environment, resource, and mechanism; subject emerged as the most critical factor for successfully implementing open innovation strategies. Specifically, the will of chief executives, the direction of decision-making, and technological environment changes were found to be significant contributors. The consensus between engineers and experts confirms that while environmental and resource factors are vital, strong leadership and effective decision-making are paramount for successful open innovation in high-tech companies.

EarthCODE – ESA’s Earth Science Collaborative Open Development Environment

Abstract. Earth Observations (EO) have become crucial for advancing climate and Earth System research, enabling significant scientific discoveries. Advanced EO missions, such as ESA’s Earth Explorers and the EU's Copernicus Programme, provide vast data volumes and continuous and global observations with cutting-edge technology, a vital resource for understanding processes and interactions within Earth's sub-systems, offering critical evidence of climate change impacts on society and ecosystems. Open access to such data products has been instrumental in facilitating global scientific collaboration and innovation. Reproducibility in Earth Science is essential for validating discoveries, enabling the scientific community to trust and build upon each other’s work. Open data, coupled with open-source software, is key to achieving this reproducibility, ensuring transparency, and facilitating peer review. Addressing scientific challenges requires collaborative efforts supported by fit-for-purpose technology to enable new insights and ensuring they are FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), trustable and up to date, supporting long-term climate studies and action-driven science. Several initiatives within ESA’s Earth Observation Programme are fostering FAIR and Open Science. EarthCODE is one such initiative, focusing on implementing ESA’s vision of EO Open Science and Innovation by adopting FAIR and Open principles in Earth Science activities funded by ESA’s FutureEO Programme. EarthCODE leverages existing European platform solutions for effective cloud-based analyses of EO data and higher-level geospatial products. It aims to ensure the persistence of end-to-end scientific workflows and provide means for managing open research data, including data, code, and documentation. EarthCODE aims to make Earth Science research more reproducible, transparent, and collaborative, driving progress in understanding and addressing global environmental challenges.

The Impact of Open Innovation on the Performance of Multinational Corporations in Emerging Markets: an Empirical Study

The Impact of Open Innovation on the Performance of Multinational Corporations in Emerging Markets: an Empirical Study

Accelerating corporate innovation ecosystems: The exprivia business incubator case study

Large enterprises and start-ups collaborate to adopt Open Innovation (OI) strategies and to develop digital technologies. In this setting, Business Incubators (BI), which connect large firms and startups, are now vital to the Corporate Open Innovation Ecosystem (COIE). A single case study method was adopted for the multinational company Exprivia, operating in the ICT sector. The results show how Exprivia created a COIE through an innovative BI pilot project to operationalize OI and promote knowledge collaboration between companies, universities, and start-ups. Strategic implications for large organizations involves defining OI strategies based on Corporate BIs to sustain growth and profitability.

Legitimizing Digital Technologies in Open Innovation Ecosystems: Overcoming Adoption Barriers in Healthcare

Highly regulated industries such as healthcare can reap significant benefits from new digital technologies. However, due to institutional constraints, adopting such technologies is a slow and difficult process. Technology providers need to legitimize their underlying technologies to the customers and other stakeholders in the field. Drawing on multiple case studies in the healthcare industry, this article demonstrates how technology providers deploy two legitimizing practices: solution selling and issue selling. These activities lead to the emergence of open innovation ecosystems that help technology providers overcome adoption barriers.

Data analytics-driven innovation: UTAUT model perspectives for advancing healthcare social work

In today’s dynamic and increasingly complex healthcare landscape, leveraging data analytics in decision-making processes has become indispensable for fostering innovation and enabling more effective, data-driven approaches to healthcare delivery. This study explores the factors influencing the adoption of data analytics techniques in healthcare social work practice. It is guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model and is aligned with key principles of open innovation dynamics. The analysis, conducted through binary logistic regression, revealed that facilitating conditions, effort expectancy, and self-efficacy are the most influential predictors of healthcare social workers’ intention to adopt data analytics. This underscores the critical role of organizational support, perceived ease of use, and individual confidence in fostering the adoption of innovative data-driven practices within healthcare social work. The results also indicate that social influence has a limited impact on shaping adoption decisions. The study’s findings have significant practical implications for healthcare decision-makers, social workers, and other stakeholders aiming to advance service delivery and improve patient outcomes through innovative data-driven solutions.

Open innovation and internationalization of SMEs: a systematic literature review

PurposeOpen innovation (OI) significantly impacts the internationalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by connecting them with external resources and accelerating their innovation processes. This study aims to systematically evaluate and synthesize existing knowledge on the role of OI in the internationalization of SMEs.Design/methodology/approachThrough a systematic literature review method, this study critically evaluates 35 articles published between 2003 and 2023, synthesizing existing research from theoretical, contextual, characteristic and methodological perspectives.FindingsThis study identifies theoretical, methodological, characteristics and contextual research gaps and further proposes a research agenda for expanding knowledge in the field. Additionally, it provides an overview of the antecedents of OI adoption, SMEs internationalization outcomes and the influencing mechanisms of OI on SMEs internationalization found in the literature, thereby establishing a foundational knowledge base for future scholars and practitioners in this field.Originality/valueThis review contributes to the existing literature by consolidating current knowledge on the topic and advancing the understanding of the intersection between OI and the internationalization of SMEs.

Evolution to entrepreneurial hospital led by open innovation: A case of Korean hospital industry

The role of hospitals as leaders of innovation in the bio health industry is emerging in the bio health industry. Hospitals are evolving from medical treatment-centered traditional hospitals to innovation-centered entrepreneurial hospitals that focus on research and development (R&D), and technology commercialization. A series of commercialized medical technologies by clinicians in hospital turns into business models in collaboration with firms. However, few studies have attempted a practical approach to entrepreneurial hospitals. Therefore, this study aims to explore the transformation of traditional hospitals to entrepreneurial hospitals through Korean hospital cases. This study studied the Korean government's initiatives related to supporting entrepreneurial hospitals. In addition, this study conducted interviews with key stakeholders involved in hospital-based innovation networks. Korea has been promoting entrepreneurial hospitals based on open innovation since 2004, and various government-supported projects have been carried out in parallel, making it suitable for examining the development trajectory and challenges from a research perspective. The findings of this study provide a theoretical framework for research on hospital-based open innovation.

Forecasting firm growth resumption post-stagnation

Our study forecasts the likelihood of firms resuming growth after periods of stagnation or declining sales. We employ machine learning methods, including Random Forest, LightGBM, and CatBoost, alongside logistic regression models. To address class imbalance, we incorporate oversampling techniques such as SMOTE, ADASYN, and SMOTEENN. We focus on two key indicators—Precision (predictive accuracy) and Recall (completeness of prediction)—to meet the needs of different investor groups. The performance of our models is evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, F-score, and RocAUC, with Venkatraman's test applied for model comparison. Our key findings reveal that CatBoost achieves a predictive accuracy of 65–67 %, significantly outperforming random firm selection, which yields only 13–17 % accuracy. The combination of the CatBoost method with the SMOTEENN technique notably enhances Recall values, reaching 58–63 %, a critical metric for large investors and policymakers. Our study offers a methodological approach to better understand and forecast the trajectories of firms engaged in open innovation.

Strategic innovation in business models: Leveraging emerging technologies to gain a competitive advantage

This review paper critically examines the role of strategic innovation in business models, with a focus on how emerging technologies can be leveraged to gain a competitive advantage. By synthesizing existing literature, the paper explores the transformative potential of technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) on traditional and contemporary business models. The review identifies key patterns and trends in how businesses across various industries are integrating these technologies to enhance their value propositions, streamline operations, and create new revenue streams. The findings suggest that companies that successfully incorporate emerging technologies into their business models are better positioned to outpace competitors and adapt to the rapidly changing market landscape. The paper also discusses the challenges and barriers to technology adoption, such as high implementation costs, skill gaps, and organizational inertia, offering insights into strategies that can mitigate these obstacles. The paper underscores the importance of strategic innovation as a critical driver of sustained competitive advantage in the digital era. It highlights that leveraging emerging technologies is not merely an option but a strategic necessity for businesses aiming to thrive amidst ongoing technological disruption. By embracing these innovations, companies can significantly transform their business models, unlock new opportunities, and secure long-term success. Keywords: Business Model Innovation, Emerging Technologies, Sustainable Practices, Strategic Innovation, Partnerships, Open Innovation, Circular Economy, Organizational Agility, Continuous Improvement, Competitive Advantage, Digital Transformation, Market Adaptation, Technological Integration, Collaborative Innovation, Resilient Business Models.

Estudo das dificuldades encontradas por laboratórios brasileiros na implementação de métodos alternativos ao uso de animais: avaliação de irritação ocular e o teste de Permeabilidade e Opacidade da Córnea Bovina (BCOP)

Introduction: Ensuring the safety of products causing ocular irritation is crucial. The Bovine Corneal Opacity and Permeability (BCOP) test is an accepted alternative method for ocular irritation assessment in regulatory contexts. Objective: This study aimed to identify the main challenges and technical limitations faced by professionals when implementing alternative methods, particularly for ocular irritation assessment. Method: A qualitative research approach was employed using questionnaires (n = 22 respondents) and interviews (n = 7), followed by discourse analysis. Results: Findings reveal that 71% of alternative method practitioners encounter significant difficulties, primarily due to high validation/implementation costs (62%), driven by consumable expenses. Limited access to training (62%) and importation of reagents and equipment (43%) were also noted. Key BCOP limitations include restricted access to bovine eyeballs (50%), less precise risk classification (43%), and substantial eyeball waste (29%) due to damage. Interviews supported these conclusions, highlighting challenges such as travel to slaughterhouses, insufficient technical details in the OECD Guide, the need for additional support materials, and a lack of experienced professionals. These results underscore the need for expanded training opportunities for test implementation. The high cost of imported materials indicates greater validation expenses in Brazil than in other countries. Conclusions: Addressing these challenges requires an open innovation environment, fostering collaboration among the Triple Helix (Companies, Scientific and Technological Institutions, and Government).

Technological progress in central and eastern Europe: Digitalization and business innovation leaders and outsiders

Innovation and the associated digitization of the global economy are becoming the foundation of competitiveness and development. This state of affairs affects all regions and countries of the world, especially enterprises, which need to adapt to stay in the market. The situation is particularly challenging in developing countries, whose economic potential is lower than that of developed economies. Addressing this issue, the article presents the results of a study on the degree of digitization and innovation of enterprises in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which are among the group of developing economies. The research included independent assessments of innovation and digitization in these countries, as well as a combined assessment of both processes. It was based on a set of 17 selected indicators characterizing the processes of digitization (9) and innovation (8). The CRITIC method was used to calculate the weights of these indicators, and the TOPSIS method was used to determine the digitization and innovation indices, as well as the final digitization and innovation index. Using the results of this analysis, relationships were determined between the digitization and innovation indices, as well as between the final index (innovation and digitization) and selected economic parameters of the countries under study (CEE). The results show that companies in the studied countries are highly differentiated in terms of their digitization and innovation. The best results in both dimensions were obtained by the Czech Republic and Slovenia, while the weakest were by Latvia and Romania. In terms of business innovation, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are the best performers, while Latvia and Romania are the weakest. On the other hand, Slovenia and the Czech Republic are the leaders in business digitization, while Romania and Bulgaria are the worst performers. The remaining countries fell within the area of average development in these dimensions. The obtained results should be a valuable source of knowledge for assessing the measures taken to date in CEE countries in the field of innovation and digitization. It would also be advisable to use them in the development and implementation of economic policy and the targeting of investment activities in the EU. A major opportunity, especially for improving the innovativeness of CEE countries, could be the Open Innovation concept. Its wider implementation in these countries should improve their performance in this regard.

The rise of open innovation in Chinese academia: a systematic review of the literature

The recent open innovation (OI) literature underscores the importance of understanding how OI is implemented across diverse institutional contexts. China has captivated OI scholars, representing a distinctive business environment that challenges established theories and frameworks. Building on translation theory, this study systematically reviews how scholars affiliated with Chinese institutions have conceptualized the concept of OI. We used a systematic approach to analyze a final sample of 202 articles, unveiling insights into themes, approaches, and implications. Our primary findings highlight a concentration on themes such as external knowledge search for enhancing firms' performance, the escalating role of innovation ecosystems, and the significance of local business, traditional Chinese culture, and innovation policies in shaping these dynamics. In contrast to recent trends in the broader international OI literature, concepts such as the role of users, universities, platforms, and social innovation are not extensively explored. Lastly, we suggest various avenues for future research to enrich OI scholarship.

Entrepreneurs’ decision-making in sustainable open innovation practices

Entrepreneurs’ decision-making in sustainable open innovation practices holds significant relevance in fostering environmentally conscious and socially responsible business strategies. Sustainable decision-making not only aligns with ethical principles but also addresses pressing global challenges such as climate change and resource depletion. This study aims to characterize the decision-making role played by entrepreneurs in the context of the open innovation paradigm and to understand the factors that influence entrepreneurial performance. A quantitative methodology supported by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was adopted, considering a sample of 407 startups incubated in science and technology parks. After that, a mixed-methods approach was employed to explore the differences between sectors of activity, in which 4 ventures were involved. The results confirm that of the 9 hypotheses formulated in the relationship between the constructs, only innovation novelty is not significant for sustainable open innovation management processes, unlike innovation openness. This study offers theoretical and practical implications for startups that intend to use open innovation networks to integrate environmental and social considerations into the core of business strategies.

The Effects of Training on Employee Performance: A Case of Tanzania Police Headquarters

Human resources are considered valuable in any organization as they ensure every task is done smoothly. However, if these human resources are not well equipped with the right equipment, techniques and knowledge on how to perform their duties, they cannot be productive, and this is where training comes in as a solution to solving these problems. This study aims to show how training contributes to improved employee performance at Tanzania Police Headquarters. The study was guided by open innovation theory and organizational development theory. The study adopted a case design because it took a short time and was constructed as a single case study of the Tanzania Police Headquarters (TPF). Both probability and non-probability sampling methods were beneficial in helping the purpose underlying this study. The target population was the Tanzania Police Force (TPF) headquarters employees in Dar es Salaam city. The 125 sampled TPF employees were drawn from three nominated departments to offer information in the study using questionnaires, interviews, and literature reviews as instruments of data collection. Data was analyzed using social science statistical package. The findings revealed that in the study area, different types of training were provided to employees such as on job training, promotional training, refresher training, technological training and orientation training. Employees at TPF revealed that training has increased the morale of employees, reduced employee turnover, improved staff retention and improved job satisfaction as well as improved skills which have improved performance. Data findings indicated that the absence of training needs assessment, outdated curriculum, limited facilities; incompetent trainers and insufficient funds were barriers to conducting training. The study concluded that training has increased the morale of employees, reduced employee turnover, improved staff retention and improved job satisfaction as well as improved skills which has improved performance. It was recommended that TPF should establish strong strategic plans to support training and development to employees as well as reduce hindrances facing the proper utilization of training and all these can be considered when there is a strong policy for training and evaluation of training needs assessment.

Digitalisation of manufacturing and innovation: the role of inbound open innovation and environmental turbulence in enabling Industry 4.0-based innovation

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies have demonstrated their potential to significantly drive innovation and enhance the performance of firms. However, I4.0 implementation is complex, requiring the application of diverse fields of knowledge and skill. Furthermore, although open innovation may contribute to the implementation of I4.0 technologies, the literature is still not clear about which open innovation practices best leverage the adoption of I4.0 technologies or how they might lead to improvements in product and process innovations, particularly when firms are facing turbulent environments. The present article aims to reduce this gap by investigating the relationships between open innovation, the adoption of I4.0 technologies, and product and process innovation performance, considering technological and market turbulence as moderating variables. As a research method, we carried out a quantitative survey of 246 industrial companies in Brazil. The results revealed that inbound open innovation flows can be used to support the adoption of I4.0 technologies, which in turn improves both process and product innovation performance. Our findings also indicate that in more technologically turbulent environments, the relationship between inbound open innovation and the adoption of I4.0 is stronger. Unexpectedly, the moderating role of market turbulence was not confirmed. The discussion arising from these findings addresses theoretical implications for the digitalisation of manufacturing, innovation management and contingency theory, as well as offering practical insights for managers and policymakers interested in performing I4.0-based innovation.

Innovation in perspective: The role of creativity and open innovation in B2B, B2C, and B2G business models

This study explores how creativity and open innovation practices (inbound and outbound) influence product innovation and innovative performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Chile, using B2B, B2C, and B2G business models as moderating variables. Through empirical analysis based on a sample of 536 SMEs, we applied structural equation modeling to assess the relationship between creativity, open innovation practices, and their impact on product innovation. The results reveal that creativity significantly impacts product innovation and outbound practices, while inbound practices do not directly affect product innovation. Additionally, it was found that product innovation substantially improves the innovative performance of SMEs. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how specific open innovation practices and creativity can be leveraged to enhance innovation in SMEs. Adapting these practices should consider the particularities of different business models to maximize their effectiveness.