External knowledge search paths in open innovation processes of small and medium enterprises

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 524-550
Author(s):  
Preecha Chaochotechuang ◽  
Farhad Daneshgar ◽  
Stefania Mariano
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Search Heuristics ◽  
Knowledge Search ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Innovation Processes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance knowledge by exploring how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) search for external knowledge in their open innovation processes, and how the search can be advanced. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory research employs a qualitative multiple case study design. A literature review of open innovation in SMEs and external knowledge search is used to build the premises of this study. Semi-structured interviews with eight SMEs are employed to collect subsequent exploratory empirical data. Findings This exploratory study revealed that SMEs adopted a combination of cognitive and experiential search heuristics where cognitive search was practiced during the innovation research process when searching for external knowledge, whilst experiential search was practiced during the innovation development process. Concerning the search space, this study found that SMEs mainly explored local knowledge, and occasionally pursued distant knowledge when confronted with complex problems. The reason for the above behavior was explained to be related to the reduction of costs and risks associated with innovation activities. Originality/value External knowledge plays a pivotal role in open innovation. Although extant studies have shed some light on how large firms search for external knowledge, however, it is not clear how SMEs search for external knowledge. Moreover, this study focuses on learning about both the search space and the search heuristics at both the research and the development stages of the innovation process.

Open and closed knowledge sourcing

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (6) ◽  
pp. 1166-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juyeon Ham ◽  
Byounggu Choi ◽  
Jae-Nam Lee
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Knowledge Sourcing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Internal Knowledge

Purpose Many studies have investigated the relationship between the adoption of open innovation and performance in large firms. However, limited research is available with regard to the use of open innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are important because of their contribution to innovation in almost all economies. The purpose of this paper is to extend the current literature by focusing on SMEs. Using complementarity and knowledge-based theories, this study develops three hypotheses to identify the effect of knowledge sourcing approaches for innovation on SMEs’ innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach Surveys collected from 196 SMEs in Korea were analyzed using the supermodularity function to test the hypotheses. Findings Results indicate that an external knowledge-oriented approach has no significant effect, whereas an internal knowledge-oriented (i.e. closed) approach has a positive effect on innovation performance. Interestingly, this study found that open innovation has a negative effect on SMEs’ innovation performance (i.e. both internal knowledge-oriented and external knowledge-oriented approaches have a substitutive relationship). Originality/value This study sheds new light on open innovation and knowledge management research by identifying the relationship between knowledge sourcing approaches for innovation, and innovation performance in SMEs. Practical implications highlight that open innovation could impede SMEs’ innovation performance.

A systematic literature review of open innovation in small and medium enterprises in the past decade

foresight ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huma Sikandar ◽  
Umar Haiyat Abdul Kohar
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Past ◽  
Prisma Statement ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose There is a growing trend of open innovation (OI) in small and middle enterprises (SMEs) these days, yet the implementation of OI in SMEs is a challenge because of their financial and resource constraints. This study aims to identify and analyze the past trends, barriers and outcomes and major factors influencing the implementation of OI in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach This review is based on 40 published articles from the Scopus database. It selects highly cited papers published from 2010 to 2019. The PRISMA statement template is used to explain the overall process of selection and rejections of the relevant articles. Findings The study contributes in two ways. First, through a comprehensive literature review, the authors highlight the overall development of the concept of OI in the literature over the past 10 years and highlight the findings of the significant studies. Second, the authors provide detailed representations of the OI literature by calculating yearly publications and identifying the SMEs which mostly implement OI practices, journals that publish a relevant article, OI-related publications in different disciplines and geographical locations in which most of the OI studies have been conducted. The study also reveals the most cited articles, journals and authors. Originality/value The authors conclude this paper with the argument that although much research has been done in the OI field, still there is a need to establish tools, models and methods that could facilitate SMEs in OI, especially for developing economies.

Open Innovation in SMEs

2013 ◽  
pp. 160-174
Author(s):  
Hakikur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Outer Periphery ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Successful Innovation ◽  
Corporate Business ◽  
Innovation Processes

Successful innovation is a key to business growth. In the realm of technological development, innovation processes have been transformed into various forms, like open innovation, crowdsourcing innovation, or collaborative innovation. This research would like to focus on open innovation processes to reach out to the common stakeholders in the entrepreneurship system through small and medium enterprises. It has been observed that to provide innovative services or products to the outer periphery of the customer chain, SMEs play an important role. Hence, focusing innovation for SMEs would lead to a newer dimension of innovation research for better business and economic growth. It could be applied to both ways in terms of value gain to the participants. This applies to all sorts of entrepreneurships, though often corporate business houses seem to be the most beneficiaries of innovation researches. This research will emphasize open innovation for SMEs at the outset by focusing transformation of innovation leading to a networked paradigm in spite of being in closed periphery, and try to provide some overview on innovation strategies, including various challenges.

Exploring the barriers to SMEs’ open innovation adoption in Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Oduro
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Survey Interviews ◽  
The Right ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose Open innovation (OI) is now recognized as one essential innovation paradigm to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) quell their liability of newness and smallness. However, little is known about SMEs’ OI barriers, particularly in emerging economies. Drawing on both network and transaction cost theory, this study aims to explore the barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted an exploratory sequential research design that involved both qualitative and quantitative study methodologies. A total of 644 responses (21 survey interviews and 623 usable questionnaires) across SMEs in Ghana were collected and analyzed in the study. A qualitative analysis involving quotations extracted from the respondent’s statement was used to present the qualitative findings, whereas SEM-partial least square, co-variance approach, was used to analyze the formulated hypotheses. Findings Results show that significant barriers to SMEs OI adoption are collaboration barriers – difficulty in finding the right partners and problems of cooperation and coordination of operational functions; organizational barriers – lack of flexible internal procedures and structures and organizational inertia; and strategic barriers – opportunistic behavior of partners and lack of strategic and resource fit. Contrary to existing findings, financial and knowledge barriers were disclosed as driving factors, rather than barriers, to SMEs’ OI adoption; these findings challenge conventional thinking about SMEs’ major OI barriers. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on only SMEs in one emerging economy, namely, Ghana, which may limit the generalization of the findings. Practical implications The findings of this study, while limited to Ghana, offer useful insights to SMEs managers, development practitioners and policymakers respecting the overall importance of the OI model, its associated impediments, as well as the strategic measures to quell those barriers. Originality/value This study provides a pioneering empirical investigation into the main barriers to SMEs’ OI adoption in a less-explored emerging market context through a mixed research approach.

scholarly journals Influence of Open Innovation Variables on the Competitive Edge of Small and Medium Enterprises

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Ismael Cristofer Baierle ◽  
Guilherme Brittes Benitez ◽  
Elpidio Oscar Benitez Nara ◽  
Jones Luis Schaefer ◽  
Miguel Afonso Sellitto
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Shop Floor ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Competitive Edge ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Innovation Processes ◽  
Technology Trends

The purpose of this study is to identify how open innovation variables influence the competitive capability of manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a regional territory in Southern Brazil. The research method is a survey of 67 SMEs in Southern Brazil that provided data for an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model encompassing seven innovation variables and five competitiveness constructs. The results indicate that most innovation initiatives have a low impact on creating a competitive edge in the surveyed companies. The most remarkable positive impacts are (i) technology trends influencing the shop floor productivity, (ii) flexibility influencing internal aspects, and (iii) customer satisfaction and innovative ideas and customized supplies influencing the market orientation. The study also reports that innovation processes are not safe from failures. Some ill-defined innovation initiatives may jeopardize the competitive edge.

Open Innovation in SMEs

2010 ◽  
pp. 378-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakikur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Innovation Research ◽  
Outer Periphery ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Successful Innovation ◽  
Corporate Business ◽  
Innovation Processes

Successful innovation is a key to business growth. In the realm of technological development, innovation processes have been transformed into various forms, like open innovation, crowdsourcing innovation, or collaborative innovation. This research would like to focus on open innovation processes to reach out to the common stakeholders in the entrepreneurship system through small and medium enterprises. It has been observed that to provide innovative services or products to the outer periphery of the customer chain, SMEs play an important role. Hence, focusing innovation for SMEs would lead to a newer dimension of innovation research for better business and economic growth. It could be applied to both ways in terms of value gain to the participants. This applies to all sorts of entrepreneurships, though often corporate business houses seem to be the most beneficiaries of innovation researches. This research will emphasize open innovation for SMEs at the outset by focusing transformation of innovation leading to a networked paradigm in spite of being in closed periphery, and try to provide some overview on innovation strategies, including various challenges.

Linking open innovation, innovation barriers and performance of Indonesian firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arif Hartono ◽  
Abdur Rafik
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Barriers To Innovation ◽  
External Knowledge ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Innovation Barriers ◽  
Knowledge Search ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Firm Openness

Purpose This study aims to examine open innovation that consists a wide range of external knowledge search activities, such external search breadth and depth, external R&D, cooperation and acquisition activities, as a response to different innovation barriers faced by Indonesian firms. Design/methodology/approach Data are derived from Indonesia innovation survey. Exploratory factor analysis is used to identify and combine innovation barriers variables. Ordered logistic estimation is used to measure the impact of innovation barriers on firm openness decision. Logistic regression is used to measure the impact of innovation barriers on firm openness indicators such as external R&D, cooperation and acquisition as the variables are binary. Finally, Tobit regression is used to measure the impact of firm openness decision on innovation performance. Findings The main findings indicate that different barriers to innovation lead to different firms’ openness decisions, and different decisions on openness have differentiated influence on innovation performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the innovation barrier literature by empirically testing whether experiencing barriers to innovation is associated with a broader external knowledge search activity. Previous studies tend to link innovation barriers with a narrow activity as indicated by external knowledge searching widely and deeply.

scholarly journals The Case of a Portuguese Intermediary of Open Innovation

2013 ◽  
pp. 932-943
Author(s):  
Fábio Oliveira ◽  
Isabel Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Intellectual Assets ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Innovation Processes

Inovamais is an innovation consultant that began its activities in 1997, several years before the popularization of the Open Innovation paradigm. The founding motivation was to enable the connection of academic and entrepreneurial worlds, with focus on businesses and their needs and special emphasis on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They work with both worlds, by turning universities’ intellectual assets into commercially attractive knowledge, and helping enterprises to search external resources (funding, knowledge, and partnerships) for their innovation processes. The objective of the present case is to shed some lights over the role and services of an intermediary of open innovation in the current general innovation landscape. Therefore, this case will generally present the business model of Inovamais on intermediation of open innovation. It will also discuss the cultural, managerial, and political challenges and problems that Inovamais has identified and dealt with during these thirteen years of work at the Portuguese and European levels.

scholarly journals COORDINATION MECHANISMS OF COLLABORATIVE R&D PROJECTS IN SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Baggio ◽  
Douglas Wegner ◽  
Gustavo Dalmarco
Keyword(s):  
Open Innovation ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Coordination Mechanisms ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Inside Out ◽  
Innovation Processes

ABSTRACT Purpose: To analyze how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) coordinate collaborative research and development (R&D) projects through an open innovation strategy. Originality/value: This research was motivated by a theoretical gap in the management of collaborative R&D projects in open innovation strategies. The originality of the paper is to advance the understanding of coordination mechanisms that SMEs can use to manage open innovation and obtain more effective results. Design/methodology/approach: The research followed a qualitative approach, through three case studies of collaborative projects. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with eleven managers directly involved in collaborative R&D projects. Findings: Results demonstrate that the use of coordination mechanisms depends on the applicability of each project’s results, i.e., the higher the chances of a certain R&D project becoming a real product, the higher the importance given to the coordination mechanisms. On the cases observed, the coordination mechanisms were defined by the enterprise, not by external partners. In addition, it was observed that open innovation projects that the enterprise seeks for external knowledge to complement internal resources (outside-in) were considered more important than transferring internal knowledge to external partners (inside-out). The paper contributes to organizational theory by highlighting the relation between the characteristics of collaborative R&D projects and the coordination mechanisms used. Regarding the managerial contribution, results serve as a guide for entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs interested in coordinating collaborative projects based on open innovation processes.

scholarly journals Open innovation in small and medium enterprises: a bibliometric analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 533-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Odriozola-Fernández ◽  
Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent ◽  
José M. Merigó-Lindahl
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Intellectual Property Right ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Prolific Authors ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose The open innovation (OI) paradigm suggests that firms should use inflows and outflows of knowledge in order to accelerate innovation and leverage markets. Literature examining how firms are adopting OI practices is rich; notwithstanding, little research has addressed this topic from the perspective of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Given the relevance of SMEs in worldwide economies, the purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of research on OI in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach In total, 112 academic articles were selected from the Web of Science database. Following a bibliometric analysis, the most relevant authors, journals, institutions and countries are presented. Additionally, the main areas these articles cover are summarized. Findings Results are consistent in that the most prolific authors are affiliated with the universities leading the ranking of institutions. However, it is remarkable that top authors in this field do not possess a large number of publications on OI in SMEs, but combine this research topic with other related ones. At the country level, European countries are on the top together with South Korea. Research limitations/implications Despite following a rigorous method, other relevant documents not included in the selected databases might have been ignored. Practical implications This paper outlines the main topics of interest within this area: impact of OI on firm performance and on organizations’ structure, OI as a mechanism to hasten new product development, the analysis of the inbound/outbound dimensions of OI, and legal issues related to intellectual property right management when OI is implemented. Originality/value The study uses a combination of bibliometric indicators with a literature review.

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