Open Innovation Practices Research Articles

Unlocking the potential of big data through open innovation on strategic foresight: An empirical analysis

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of Big Data on strategic foresight in the presence of open innovation as a (mediating variable) in the companies of the therapeutic industry and the medical supplies sector in Amman the capital city of Jordan. Out of the (121) companies making up the total of such companies, the study focused on (18) industrial companies that had more than (100) employees in total, however only (11) of those have consented to take part in the study. The study population consisted of (271) employees occupying different jobs (general manager, deputy general manager, unit manager, department manager). Due to the limited size of the population, the entire number of employees were included as participants using the comprehensive survey technique, and the number of returned and validated questionnaires for analysis were (259), representing (95.5%) of the total. In order to determine the study problem, pilot structured interviews were used in a sample of the mentioned companies. The questionnaire was employed as the key tool to measure the study variables through data collection, and the descriptive and inferential statistics methods were used to analyze the collected data, through calculations of the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test and half-segmentation, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and the structured equation model using SMART PLS3 for hypothesis testing. The study culminated in several results, the most important of which was evidence that open innovation played a partial mediating role in the relationship between big data and strategic foresight in the companies of the therapeutic industries and medical supplies sector. Accordingly, a set of recommendations were put forward, the most important of which is to increase investment in big data in the companies due to its importance in foreseeing the future. As well as applying open innovation practices and strengthening strategic foresight practices due to its important role in avoiding extensive losses and seizing new opportunities. Highlighting the need to pay attention to open innovation practices that generate ideas and help to have strategic foresight.

IMPACT OF DIGITAL MARKETING ADOPTION ON ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE AND CORPORATE REPUTATION: ROLE OF OPEN INNOVATION CLIMATE IN IT ENABLED SECTOR IN DELHI NCR

The current study's goal is to find out how open innovation environments in businesses affect the adoption of digital marketing, which is a requirement for improving business reputation and organizational performance. According to a recent report by The Economist Group titled "The Open Innovation Barometer," more than 90% of organizations have either adopted or intend to implement open innovation practices in the next three years, including allowing cross-organizational collaboration on innovation. This is the reason a more thorough understanding of the situation is required. Companies can evaluate their prospects for growth by knowing how performance and brand image are impacted by open innovation and digital marketing efficacy. The study sets the stage for an empirical investigation of the suggested relationships by putting forth a theoretical framework. This investigation can yield further insightful information that can guide strategic decision-making and create an atmosphere that is more favorable for open innovation practices within the designated organizational context.

Artificial intelligence capabilities, open innovation, and business performance – Empirical insights from multinational B2B companies

In contrast to the operational nature of business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprises, business-to-business (B2B) organizations emphasizes offering specialized products and services to their clients, which are businesses. Recognizing that B2B organizations are dealing with complex metadata in an ever-changing business context, artificial intelligence (AI) technologies possess the potential in assisting them analyse massive amounts of data, generating actionable insights, and formulating revolutionary ideas, potentially improving collaboration and innovation. As a result, this study adopts an empirical research approach to analyse the relationship among AI capabilities, open innovation, and business performance, with an emphasis on B2B companies, based on the theoretical foundations of social-technical system and contingency theories. This study investigated the relationship between AI capabilities and open innovation practices, as well as the effect they have on business performance, using survey data collected from 398 B2B multinational companies and structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that AI capabilities have a favourable effect on open innovation practices, which subsequently leads to an improvement in business performance. Notably, the impact of AI capabilities on business performance was found to be partially mediated. The examination of the moderating effect of environmental dynamism reveals that it exerts a significant influence on the relationship between AI capabilities and outbound open innovation. However, it does not have a significant moderating impact on the causal interaction of AI capabilities on both business performance and inbound open innovation. The ramifications of these findings are significant for managers and policymakers who are interested in fostering innovation and enhancing competitiveness within the B2B sector. The results underscore the crucial role of cultivating AI capabilities.

PATTERN of Open Science in Croatia

The PATTERN project, officially known as "Piloting open and responsible Activities and Trainings Towards the Enhancement of Researchers Networks," is a comprehensive initiative funded by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe programme. Its primary focus is to advance open and responsible research and innovation (Open RRI) across Europe through training for researchers to enhance their capacity for effectively addressing societal challenges while promoting transparency and inclusivity in research. The project spans 42 months and involves a total of 19 organisations and institutions from 13 European countries, including the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Croatia, contributing to the development and implementation of training programs tailored for researchers at allcareer stages.PATTERN's training modules cover a diverse range of topics vital to open RRI, including open access, FAIR data management, citizen science, research integrity, gender equality, non-discrimination, inclusion in research, dissemination and exploitation of results, science communication, and management and leadership skills. By addressing these crucial aspects, the PATTERN project aims to equip researchers with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in today's dynamic research landscape. The project’s implementation began by systematic mapping and comprehensive analysis of contemporary educational opportunities for researchers on Open RRI, after which comes the development of innovative curricula, with an emphasis on inclusivity and fairness in the modules.Implementation and testing are integral components of PATTERN's strategy. The project intends to test its training modules through a variety of tailored activities conducted by nine core partners and five associated institutions, which will act as pilot institutions across Europe. PATTERN's expansive network includes Croatia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Turkey. This network, encompassing OpenAIRE members and National Open Access Desks (NOADs), ensures a broad and diverse reach for the project's training curricula.Crucially, PATTERN will establish a digital platform, where all training materials will be openly accessible, providing a solution for hosting and disseminating freely available training modules. This platform will not only facilitate knowledge sharing but also mobilise and moderate the research and innovation community. It will serve as a valuable resource for relevant bodies and institutions responsible for educating researchers, disseminating project results, and promoting OS practices in multiple languages. Based on the accumulated knowledge and insights, a series of policy recommendations will be designed and developed, targeting European Union bodies, national entities, higher education stakeholders, and research institutions, ultimately promoting open and responsible research practices at a systemic level.There is an ongoing demand for training and promotion of open science (OS) topics in Croatia among researchers, with a notable deficiency in formal OS education within Croatian higher education institutions. To bridge this gap and promote OS practices effectively, PATTERN leverages a wealth of expertise accumulated through EU projects that have laid the groundwork for comprehensive training programs designed to enhance researchers' competencies. The PATTERN project represents a pioneering effort to advance open and responsible research and innovation practices in Europe. With active participation from institutions such as the Ruđer Bošković Institute, PATTERN aspires to empower researchers and institutions alike. By developing comprehensive training modules, creating a collaborative platform, and providing policy guidance, PATTERN is poised to contribute significantly to the advancement of science and society in the European Research Area.

Knowledge sharing and innovation performance: The mediating role of open innovation

AbstractThe investigation into the performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) driven by open innovation has received relatively limited attention in academic research. Businesses can enhance their innovation efforts and develop new products or services by using open innovation strategies to tap into internal expertise or examine external facts. The authors examined the rationales and outcomes of open innovation in SMEs by drawing upon existing theories related to the resource‐based and knowledge‐based perspectives of firms. A conceptual model was proposed. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares (PLS). Data collected from 429 SMEs were analyzed using SmartPLS 4. The current research indicates that open innovation serves as a mediator between knowledge sharing and innovation performance, with knowledge sharing exerting a positive influence on open innovation and innovation performance. The findings of this study emphasize the increased opportunities presented by open innovation theory and practice, providing insights into the formulation of strategies for the future development of Chinese SMEs.

Technology Exploration and Technology Exploitation in Japanese Chemical Companies

This study analyses Japanese chemical companies’ performance based on open innovation activities. 19 listed chemical companies from Tokyo Stock Exchange were selected for the study. Secondary data from chemical companies' patents information and company transactions are collected through the private patent database, Derwent Innovation - Clarivate and private financial database, Thomson Reuters - Eikon. The findings indicate that open innovation practices did not improve Japanese chemical companies’ performance (return on net operating assets). Overall, neither technology exploration nor technology exploitation competencies are contributing to company performance, but one significant finding is found where divestitures of subsidiaries and joint ventures are improving company performance. In conclusion, some suggestions have been made for Japanese chemical companies to practice open innovation activities more efficiently.

Creating shared value through open innovation: Insights from the case of Enel industrial plants

AbstractDespite the significant attention gained by the concept of creating shared value (CSV) over the past decade, there is a lack of empirical research on corporate practices that achieve social and environmental benefits through CSV dynamics. Through an in‐depth single case study, this research explores open innovation (OI) practices contributing to the grand challenge of climate change and their role as microfoundations in the three CSV dynamics proposed by Porter and Kramer: (1) reconceiving products and markets; (2) redefining productivity in the value chain; and (3) enabling local cluster development. Building on a 3‐year (October 2019–October 2022) interaction with Enel—a very large company in the renewable energy sector—we collected qualitative data on the OI practices implemented in the construction, operating, and repurposing phases of three of its industrial sites. Employing a three‐step data analysis process, the study identified 29 OI practices across the sites, which have been grouped into 11 CSV microfoundations. Our findings contribute to understanding the organizational factors in sustainable value creation by bridging the gap between CSV and OI literature and confirm the effectiveness of OI models for addressing societal challenges like climate change.

VALIDATING AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE OPEN INNOVATION PRACTICES IN RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION

The Open Innovation Practice is getting well known as an initiative to help increase the rate of commercializing research output. Implementing open innovation practices within academia is essential in facilitating collaboration, fostering knowledge sharing, and facilitating technology transfer between academic institutions and industries. This pilot study aims to investigate and assess the validity and reliability of the instrument used to measure open innovation practices. Quantitative methodology was employed in this study, and data were gathered via a survey from 109 respondents. The respondents are among the lecturers at public universities in Malaysia that are actively involved in the commercialization of research output. The descriptive analysis shows that the respondents often practice open innovation in commercializing their research output. During the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the findings indicated that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value for the open innovation practice is 0.885, showing no severe problem of multicollinearity and Barlett's Test of Sphericity demonstrates a statistically significant result. No item is eliminated in this study. Meanwhile, the reliability test for nine instrument items in open innovation practice is accepted with Cronbach's Alpha of 0.916. To conclude, the discovery from this study indicates that the instrument acquires high validity and reliability and is well prepared to be tested for future stages.

Impact of environmental sustainability on open innovation in SMEs: An empirical study considering the moderating effect of gender

Sustainable development has emerged as a crucial factor enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in light of societal expectations and government regulations. Within this context, innovation assumes a significant role in this challenge, particularly for smaller companies facing greater obstacles in fostering innovation. These constraints have prompted both internal and external innovation initiatives, commonly referred to as open innovation. In this article, we scrutinize the influence of environmental practices on innovation endeavors, specifically examining whether the innovation strategy and its implementation facilitate the advancement of open innovation within SMEs. Furthermore, we explore the potential moderating effect of firm owners' gender on these relationships. The research model is validated using data from 543 companies in Ecuador, employing the partial least squares (PLS) method. The findings elucidate how environmental sustainability can promote the adoption of open innovation practices, with the innovation strategy and its implementation acting as mediators in this relationship. The impact of gender only manifests in the innovation strategy pertaining to environmental sustainability. In conclusion, open innovation stemming from the pivotal role of environmental sustainability emerges as a critical driver in augmenting innovation performance across various dimensions, such as quality, growth, efficiency, process enhancement, organizational practices, employee motivation, and acquisition of new product/service skills.

Assessing the effectiveness of open innovation implementation strategies in the promotion of ambidextrous innovation in Thai small and medium-sized enterprises

The adoption of open innovation practices is becoming increasingly important for SMEs seeking to remain competitive in today's fast-paced business environment. The aim of this study is to understand the implementation of open innovation processes by SMEs while highlighting two critical processes: open innovation implementation (OII) and open ambidextrous innovation practices (OAIP). The study employes a second-order factor analysis incorporating multigroup structural invariance analysis to explore the differences in ambidextrous innovation practices across SME size categories using a sample of 615 SMEs in Thailand. The primary finding reveals and confirms a statistically significant positive relationship between the implementation of open innovation and the advancement of ambidextrous innovation practices. This relationship underlines the importance of embracing open innovation, as it fosters ambidextrous innovation, thereby enabling fresh perspectives, accelerating creativity, and facilitating knowledge exchange. Three categories of MSMEs—microenterprises, small enterprises, and medium-sized enterprises—are shown to be well positioned for adopting open innovation strategies, each demonstrating a significant ability to foster open innovation practices. In the study, practical and policy recommendations for business practitioners and policy-makers are presented, emphasizing the importance of understanding the organizational, managerial, technological, and contextual factors that underpin successful open innovation implementation. A novel structural second-order factor model that deepens our understanding of the complex relationships between open innovation processes is also introduced, offering valuable insights for academic researchers. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of SMEs embracing open innovation practices and promoting ambidextrous innovation for sustained success and growth, and key strategic takeaways are proposed based on the empirical item-scale results.

The influence of open and closed innovation practices on economic performance: empirical evidence from Indian biotechnology industry

PurposeThe paper aims to examine the influence of closed and open innovation practices on economic performance. This papert also examines the mediating roles of innovation performance and firm performance. The study uses innovation theory based on knowledge management for theoretical support.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involves two steps. First, all the variables relevant to the adoption of innovative approaches and performance parameters are identified. Subsequently, primary data are gathered from decision-makers of 200 biotechnological firms and a structural equation modeling analysis is performed.FindingsThe study's results showed that the open innovation practice, such as interaction with large research and development (R&D) firms and customers, influences the performance parameters. The findings indicate that closed and open innovation practices positively impact performance measures like innovation, firm and economic performance. The results also indicate the mediating role of firm performance. However, the innovation performance was not found to mediate the relationship.Originality/valueThis examination gives experimental bits of knowledge from any confining influence innovation approaches in India. Analysts and specialists of firms can use the results of the current study to comprehend the effect of various innovation practices on different performance measures.

Factors that make open innovation more successful than traditional approaches

PurposeFour management capabilities for successfully operationalizing open innovation are: strategy and culture, ecosystem capability, internal capability and technology enablement. Surveying more than 1,000 executives on current open innovation practices and capabilities, IBM IBV was able to identify how the different operating model capabilities interact and complement each other to drive better innovation and business performance.Design/methodology/approachTo help organizations build and improve their open innovation capabilities, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) partnered with APQC to develop the Ecosystem-Enabled Innovation Maturity Model (EEIMM) - an open standards model encompassing four domain competencies required for successful open innovation. To assess the maturity and benchmark the performance of organizations’ open innovation capabilities, the IBV, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, used the EEIMM to survey over 1000 leaders responsible for open innovation at their organizations.FindingsFour management capabilities for successfully operationalizing open innovation are: strategy and culture, ecosystem capability, internal capability and technology enablement. IBV analysis found that organizations that are more advanced in developing the four building blocks see significantly better performance across key financial and innovation metrics.Practical implicationsFor every dollar of investment, the proportion of direct revenue attributed to open innovation is four times higher than for traditional innovation.Originality/valueLeading organizations are embracing open innovation as a critical component of innovation strategy and investment. They recognize that adopting open innovation yields far greater returns than traditional innovation can. Recent research by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBM IBV) reveals, for example, that as many as 84 percent of executives now view open innovation as important for their organization’s future growth.

Collaborations for Digital Transformation: Case Studies of Industry 4.0 in Brazil

In today's digital age, many managers need to find new ways to manage collaborations where complementary partners co-create digital solutions. Collaborations with partners are at the center of digital projects, but managing these collaborations is challenging. This article objective is to investigate how research and development collaborations with scientific and business partners contribute to digital transformation. This has been achieved through an empirical investigation of three Brazilian manufacturers that are already on their journey toward digitalization. The research design involves multiple case studies and qualitative analysis, through data collection by interviews and questionnaires with participants from the tactical and strategic level followed by content analysis as well as nonparticipant observations. The findings indicate that the companies are at the early stage of building a digital ecosystem. However, they have already secured benefits from pursuing open innovation practices in the form of competitive advantage in operational processes. The results indicate that business success depends more on how (disruptive) technologies are developed and used by engaged people to add value to the enterprise, rather than simply adopting new technologies by themselves. Manufacturers need to act now to reshape their mindset, operational processes, and business models, respectively, enabling the understanding that: 1) organizational ecosystems are becoming more open and collaborative; 2) the value of data capture and analysis can be developed and used for data-driven learning, preventive and predictive capabilities, supporting decision-making; 3) customers' preferences need to be internalized to deliver customized experiences.

The limits of open innovation: Failures, risks, and costs in open innovation practice and theory

The success of open innovation has been widely acknowledged in both industrial practice and academic research. However, we understand much less about the limits of open innovation. A better understanding of this downside is nevertheless very important as there are still many organizations that struggle when trying to implement an open innovation strategy. At the same time, some research has pointed to decreasing returns to openness, or more generally to the compex relationship between open innovation and (financial) performance. This is why we call for more attention to failures, risks, and costs — and even the “dark side” — in the context of open innovation. In this editorial, we will further introduce this perspective, describe the articles published in this special issue, and offer some suggestions for future research. Overall, we believe that a better understanding of the limits of openness will allow for a more balanced view, thereby further expanding the frontiers of open innovation practice and theory.

Find your match! How emerging economy firms combine different forms of openness to innovate

This study investigates how combining different forms of formal collaboration (i.e., developed vs. emerging economy collaborations) and informal search (i.e., search breadth vs. depth) affects the innovation performance of emerging economy firms. The open innovation literature has primarily focused on the effect of individual open innovation practices, generating conflicting results. We argue that outcomes depend on specific combinations of open innovation practices. Drawing on the notion of external absorptive capacity routines, we argue that combining forms of openness that rely on the same absorptive capacity routine positively affects innovation performance. We specifically ask whether broad or deep search, which rely on different routines, is more appropriate for emerging economy firms who are collaborating with developed or other emerging economy partners. We test our hypotheses using responses from 659 manufacturing and service firms to two waves of the Turkish Innovation Survey. Using Tobit regression analysis, we generate findings consistent with our expectations. We find that deep search is appropriate when collaborating with developed economy partners, whereas broad search is appropriate when collaborating with other emerging economy partners. These confirm the importance of combining forms of openness with matching routines. Overall, we illustrate the importance of finding the right combination of different forms of openness.

Open innovation in SMEs: a dynamic capabilities perspective

PurposeThis study aims to examine the relationships between organizational learning capabilities, open innovation and firm performance (FP) in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachData collected from 384 manufacturing SMEs operating across the seven emirates of the UAE were statistically analyzed using SmartPLS 3 to examine the hypotheses of this study.FindingsThe results show that organizational learning capabilities positively influences both inbound and outbound dimensions of open innovation (OI). Inbound open innovation (IP) practice positively impacted both market effectiveness and profitability, while outbound open innovation (OP) practice only affected profitability. Findings further confirmed the mediating role of IP practice on the relationships of organizational learning capabilities with market effectiveness and profitability. In contrast, OP practice did not mediate the relationships of organizational learning capabilities with market effectiveness and profitability.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors knowledge, this is among the first study contributing to the extant innovation literature in terms of investigations into the significant and complex interrelations of organizational learning capabilities, OI and FP in a single study, demonstrating various theoretical implications in the context of manufacturing SMEs in emerging countries. Overall, the findings of this study confirmed that the owners/managers of the UAE’s manufacturing SMEs need to be acquainted with the need of creating a working environment fostering organizational learning processes and capabilities to enhance IP and OP activities, thereby improving their market effectiveness and profitability.

Orchestrating an Open Innovation Ecosystem in low-tech industries: the case of Barilla’s Blu1877

ABSTRACT The study explores Open Innovation practices adopted by large firms in low- and medium-technology industries to foster innovation when the integration of distant knowledge from far scientific and technological fields is required. The study performs an explanatory single case study methodology. It focuses on the Italian food producer Barilla and its Blu1877 corporate venture capital fund to explore innovations in the food and agri-tech domains. It emerges that, with the intent to create and orchestrate an Open Innovation Ecosystem, Barilla moves across two main trajectories: (i) the search for external knowledge and expansion of network for new markets and technology exploration, and (ii) the support and mentorship of innovative start-ups that explore and develop novel ideas and technologies. The resulting Open Innovation Ecosystem has become the locus where innovations are developed by sharing knowledge, competencies, and capabilities among diverse actors and where companies can promote a transition toward the opening of their organisational boundaries.

Linking investment decisions-based on firm performance and open innovation practices in Vietnam’s wire and cable market using data envelopment analysis models

The wire and cable market has experienced a significant upsurge in demand, driven by its integration with industries such as electronics, telecommunications, infrastructure construction, and electronic equipment manufacturing. This study aims to investigate the linkages between investment decisions, open innovation practices, and firm performance in Vietnam's wire and cable market. In this study, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models, specifically the super-slacks-based measures (Super-SBM) and the Malmquist index, were applied to evaluate the profitable efficiency, position, technical innovation, and technological innovation of the top ten wire and cable firms in Vietnam from 2017 to 2020. The main results revealed that EC-07 emerged as the most efficient firm in terms of overall efficiency, while EC-04 and EC-05 exhibited substantial potential for development. Moreover, the key findings identified a critical gap in the area of technical and technological innovation, which hampers the continuous advancement of technical capabilities and overall productivity improvement in this industry. Therefore, the outcomes of this study have practical implications for enterprises in Vietnam's wire and cable market, offering insights to improve their innovative skills, cost reduction efforts, and overall profitability. The study underscores the importance of integrating open innovation practices into investment decisions as a means to enhance business performance, including the enhancement of innovative capabilities, cost reduction, and profit maximization. Furthermore, the findings of this study provide valuable insights for policymakers and regulators, offering a deeper understanding of the influence of open innovation and investment decisions on Vietnam's economic development, particularly leveraging these insights to support the growth and development of Vietnam's wire and cable industry.

Impact of innovation strategy, absorptive capacity, and open innovation on SME performance: A Chilean case study

Open innovation has an important impact on the innovative activity and competitiveness of SMEs. Moreover, it is a topic of interest for academics and practitioners. This study analyzes, in the context of SMEs, how absorptive capacity can favor incoming and outgoing open innovation practices, the mediating role that innovation strategy plays in this relationship, and the effect of open innovation practices on performance. Partial least squares (PLS-SEM) and empirical data obtained from interviews with 194 managers of Chilean manufacturing SMEs with between 10 and 250 employees were used. The results obtained make a relevant contribution to the literature in two aspects: (1) absorptive capacity has a significant and positive influence on firms' strategies and outbound innovation practices and (2) firm strategies play a complete mediating role between absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation practices and a complementary mediating role between absorptive capacity and outbound open innovation practices. Additionally, the results show that open innvoation improves SME performance. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for both policy makers and SME managers.

Open Innovation as a Strategy for Creating Value in Technology-based companies

Given the current scenario established by dynamic and competitive practices, organizations seek strategies that meet the market’s demand, create organizational value and allow the emergence of differentials before the competition. On one hand, innovation is considered a tool for achieving competitive advantage and has been sought through stimulation for creating ideas, the development of intellectual capital and efficient resources use. On the other hand, what is seen in some organizations is the absence of resources that allow financial, personal or technological growth. In this sense, the use of open innovation emerges as a proposal to create organizational value and allows companies to support each other, transferring knowledge, financial and even technological resources. This study aims to determine which factors stemming from open innovation can influence Technology-based Companies to create value. For such, a quantitative and descriptive survey was carried out, with a questionnaire applied to employees of Technologically Based Companies. The results pointed out that the knowledge networks and the organization innovation profile are necessary aspects for the definition of open innovation practices and open innovation factors such as the Partnership Establishment, product development through licensing and patents, spin in and spin-off, corporate venturing and chain value are able to influence value creation.