Researcher, I have heard of your innovation. Will you marry me?

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-283
Author(s):  
Nuria Calvo ◽  
Jacobo Feás ◽  
David Rodeiro-Pazos ◽  
Braulio Pérez ◽  
Sara Fernández-López

Purpose This paper aims to explore the determinants of firms’ attitudes to R&D cooperation with universities with the goal to propose a model of knowledge transfer university-firm. Design/methodology/approach By understanding university-industry cooperation as a process, the model in this study is based on two factors: the “promoter of university-industry relations” (PUIR) and a technological system that is able to match the research supply of universities with the demand for innovation of the firms. A total of 375 firms, 420 research groups and 18 experts in knowledge transfer from Spain, Portugal and France have been involved in this study. Findings This study provides the first evidences of the relation between the number of matches’ demand-supply of research, the number of university-firm relations and the willingness to cooperate; all of these presented in the knowledge transfer model. Results also reinforce the utility of the role of PUIR and the matching system in the open innovation process. Research limitations/implications However, more evidences are necessary to get a complete validation of the model. In the future, the continuous utilization of the matching system by the PUIRs of the selected regions will allow the authors to evaluate how well the system is working by analysing the possible increases in formal collaboration university-firm in the area of R&D. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature through aligning the open innovation and intellectual capital theories in the specific and complex context of university-firm collaboration. Also, little research regarding this topic has been noticed in SUDOE European Union (EU) countries (SUDOE is an EU territorial cooperation programme that supports regional development by funding transnational projects).

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giustina Secundo ◽  
Antonio Toma ◽  
Giovanni Schiuma ◽  
Giuseppina Passiante

PurposeDespite the abundance of research in open innovation, few contributions explore it at inter-organizational level, and particularly with a focus on healthcare ecosystem, characterized by a dense network of relationships among public and private organizations (hospitals, companies and universities) as well as other actors that can be labeled as “untraditional” player, i.e. doctors, nurses and patients. The purpose of this paper is to cover this gap and explore how knowledge is transferred and flows among all the healthcare ecosystems’ players in order to support open innovation processes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in nature and adopts a narrative literature review approach. In particular, insights gathered from open innovation literature at the inter-organizational network level, with a particular attention to healthcare ecosystems, and from the knowledge transfer processes, are analyzed in order to propose an interpretative framework for the understanding of knowledge transfer in open innovation with a focus on healthcare ecosystem.FindingsThe paper proposes an original interpretative framework for knowledge transfer to support open innovation in healthcare ecosystems, composed of four main components: healthcare ecosystem’s players’ categories; knowledge flows among different categories of players along the exploration and exploitation stages of innovation development; players’ motivations for open innovation; and players’ positions in the innovation process. In addition, assuming the intermediary network as the suitable organizational model for healthcare ecosystem, four classification scenarios are identified on the basis of the main players’ influence degree and motivations for open innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper offers interpretative lenses for managers and policy makers in understanding the most suitable organizational models able to encourage open innovation in healthcare ecosystems, taking into consideration the players’ motivation and the knowledge transfer processes on the basis of the innovation results.Originality/valueThe paper introduces a novel framework that fills a gap in the innovation management literature, by pointing out the key role of external not R&D players, like patients, involved in knowledge transfer for open innovation processes in healthcare ecosystems.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wil Janssen ◽  
Harry Bouwman ◽  
René van Buuren ◽  
Timber Haaker

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the role of intermediaries in open innovation networks in achieving ICT-enabled innovations. The ultimate goal of open innovation networks is to create value for endusers and providers, and to share the risks and rewards. The aim of this paper is to analyse the competences that intermediaries in open innovation networks need to master and exploit during the exploration and exploitation phases of an innovation process. Design/methodology/approach – Based on 14 cases, all of which are examples of collaborative multi-party projects with a focus on ICT-enabled innovations, the paper inductively develops a competence model for intermediaries that can be applied at different stages in the innovation. Findings – The research shows that intermediaries can play an effective role in open innovation, provided they have the right set of competences. It can be concluded that the role of innovation intermediary is most relevant in the creation and development phases. Research limitations/implications – This study certainly has its limitations. The researchers were involved in several cases, which may have biased their views, even though an external expert who was familiar with the case and the work of the intermediary was involved to minimize the risk. Most importantly, the cases all involved of a single intermediary, albeit with many different private and public partners. The cases were primarily located in the Netherlands. It would be interesting to complement this study with results from other innovation intermediaries. Practical implications – The paper identified which competences of organizations in innovation are required, and how to balance the competences between the different partners, including the innovation intermediary. The study allows to link the type of goal of the collaboration to a number of best practices, including the competences and roles that are required at different stages. Originality/value – The paper combines the core innovation competences with the innovation value chain concept developed, and evaluate the resulting model in 14 different cases. The model is new and relevant in practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Novi Lailatul Khoirunnisa ◽  
Rangga Almahendra

Purpose This study aims to explore the extent to which inter-organizational hybrid governance manages the micro design for optimum reverse knowledge transfer in the open innovation context. The authors use two essential facets of micro design in hybrid governance: product adaptation and integration mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected from franchisees through structured questionnaires in Indonesia. Findings Results indicated that product adaptation has a positive relationship with reverse knowledge transfer. This study also found that the formalization strengthens the relationship between product adaptation and reverse knowledge transfer. However, the socialization does not have a moderation effect. Research limitations/implications This research estimates the knowledge transfer from the agent’s side only. Therefore, further research is expected to estimate the reverse knowledge transfer in dyads (from agent and principal) to get a detailed understanding of reverse knowledge transfer. Practical implications This study offers guidelines to managers, especially in inter-organizational hybrid governance. The authors suggest reverse knowledge transfer as a form to manage the dispersed knowledge from their agents. Governing institutions should change their view that agents have diverse knowledgebase from experience adapting to local conditions and can improve their open innovation through reverse knowledge transfer. From the results, it is found that giving agents the flexibility to adapt products can boost reverse knowledge transfer to support open innovation. Originality/value This study provides an understanding of the utilization of external knowledge sourcing in the context of open innovation from agent to principal in hybrid governance through reverse knowledge transfer, which has thus far been empirically under-researched.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 57-84
Author(s):  
Rosita Capurro ◽  
Raffaele Fiorentino ◽  
Stefano Garzella ◽  
Rosa Lombardi

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to investigate the role of boundary management when firms should implement open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe relevant literature on strategic management, firm boundaries and open innovation fields is revised and critically assessed. An interpretive-qualitative methodology is applied to analyse empirical data obtained from a questionnaire and subsequent interviews of a sample of Italian listed firms. By critically integrating literature review and empirical analysis, a framework is provided with the objective of supporting open innovation implementation.FindingsThe study shows that on the one hand, open innovation and many modern paths of growth are connected to a firm's boundaries and that on the other hand, boundary management plays a key role in the implementation of open innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper has implications for practitioners by driving them to shift the focus of open innovation implementation towards the management of boundaries, in which boundary capabilities and activities play a key role.Originality/valueThis paper sheds light on the advantages and risks that can jeopardize a successful opening up innovation processes without the effective management of boundary studies. Thus, the authors identify and propose causes for reflection and tools maximizing potentiality and reducing risks in the implementation of such processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Elissa Dwi Lestari

Startups, as they are bounded to their liabilities of newness and smallness, need to collaborate extensively with their external partners through the open innovation process. This study aims to depict Co-working space's pivotal role in building up a working innovation ecosystem that facilitates open innovation for startups. To get a more deep understanding of the phenomena, this study used an exploratory study based on three case studies of Co-working spaces operated in the Jakarta region. The study shows that the open innovation process among startups is not naturally existed, but instead, it is purposefully designed by the role of a community manager who acts as the ecosystem catalyst. The community manager becomes the ecosystem enablers that facilitate the networking process by connecting members. As a result, these activities will help the emerging of mutual connection and collaboration processes among members that empower open innovation among startups members. The multiple-case design makes the study conclusions might be difficult to generalize. Future research, including quantitative studies, will help the conclusions examination and the knowledge enrichment of start-ups' open innovation process. This paper will enrich the knowledge concerning how Co-working spaces member seizing opportunities that lead to the open innovation process.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Barjak ◽  
Fabian Heimsch

PurposeThe relationship between corporate culture and inbound open innovation (OI) has been limited to two sub-constructs: a culture for openness and an innovation culture, but until now a richer conceptualization of corporate culture is missing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply Quinn and Rohrbaugh's (1983) competing values framework and regress these together with company internal and external control variables on five measures of inbound OI, reflecting product innovation, process innovation and the sourcing of innovation activities. The authors use data from a survey of more than 250 Swiss companies, primarily SMEs.FindingsThe importance of the firms' market environments suggests that the results are affected by the specific situation in which the firms found themselves at the time of the survey: after a strong currency shock, inbound OI activities seem to be a reaction to external pressure that favored planning and rule-oriented (formal) cultures to implement cost-cutting process innovations.Practical implicationsCompanies should develop a vision and a strategy, ensure open and transparent communication, have suitable reward and support mechanisms in place, adjust structures and processes, and institutionalize and formalize any change whenever they are confronted with a situation that requires a quick reaction and an adjustment to their degree of openness.Originality/valueThe paper clarifies the relationship between cultural traits and inbound OI, using a well-established understanding of corporate culture and differentiating between innovation types. It points to the importance of the external environment in order to understand the role of culture.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chansoo Park

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess how the transfer of explicit and tacit knowledge is affected by the knowledge disseminative capacity of a foreign parent firm, with an emphasis on the moderating role of psychic distance, by developing and testing a theoretical model of international joint venture (IJV) learning. Design/methodology/approach The author tested the hypotheses with survey data collected from 199 IJVs in South Korea, estimating a structural equation model using AMOS 23.0. Findings The authors found that the capacity of the foreign parent to disseminate knowledge to the IJV has a greater impact on explicit knowledge transfer than tacit knowledge transfer. He also found that the relationship between disseminative capacity and explicit knowledge transfer is significantly moderated by psychic distance, but the relationship between disseminative capacity and tacit knowledge transfer is not. Originality/value The results are critical for IJVs and parent firms seeking to improve knowledge transfer, as they establish the importance of parent firms’ disseminative capacities and the moderating role of psychic distance in the process of both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer. This research addresses the research gap regarding disseminative capacity by providing empirical evidence.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Strasser ◽  
Markus Westner ◽  
Susanne Strahringer

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the main tasks, necessary skills, and the implementation of the offshore coordinator’s role to facilitate knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) offshoring. Design/methodology/approach This empirical exploratory study uses the classical Delphi method that includes one qualitative and two quantitative rounds to collect data on IS experts’ perceptions to seek a consensus among them. Findings The participants agreed, with strong consensus, for a set of 16 tasks and 15 skills. The tasks focused primarily on relationship management and facilitating knowledge transfer on different levels. The set of skills consists of approximately 25 per cent “hard” skills, e.g. professional language skills and project management skills, and approximately 75 per cent “soft” skills, e.g. interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to deal with conflict. Two factors mainly influence implementing the offshore coordinator role: project size and the number of projects to be supported simultaneously. Practical implications The findings provide indications of how to define and fulfill this crucial role in practice to facilitate the knowledge transfer process in a positive way. Originality/value Similarities in previous research findings are aggregated to examine the intermediate role in detail from a consolidated perspective. This results in the first comprehensive set of critical tasks and skills assigned to the competency dimensions of the universal competency framework, demonstrating which and how many competency dimensions are critical.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelia Engelsberger ◽  
Jillian Cavanagh ◽  
Timothy Bartram ◽  
Beni Halvorsen

PurposeIn this paper, the authors argue that multicultural skills and relational leadership act as enablers for open innovation, and thereby examine the process through which teams can utilize multicultural skills to support the development of relational leadership and knowledge sourcing and sharing (KSS) through individual interaction and relationship building. The authors address the following research question: How does relational leadership enable open innovation (OI) among employees with multicultural skills?Design/methodology/approachThis paper applies a multi-level approach (team and individual level) and builds on interviews with 20 employees, middle and senior managers with multicultural experiences, working in open innovation environments.FindingsThe authors’ findings shed light on the process through which social exchange relationships among team members (e.g. R&D teams) and knowledge exchange partners are enhanced by the use of multicultural skills and support the development of relational leadership to facilitate KSS and ultimately OI. The decision for participants to collaborate and source and share knowledge is motivated by individual reward (such as establishing network or long-lasting contacts), skill acquisition (such as learning or personal growth in decision-making) and a sense of reciprocity and drive for group gain. The authors encourage greater human resource (HR) manager support for relational leadership and the development and use of multicultural skills to promote KSS.Research limitations/implicationsDespite the value of our findings, this paper is not without limitations. The authors explained that the focus of this study design was on the work activities of the participants and their skill development and not specific projects or organizations. It was outside the scope of this study to examine variations across organizations and individuals as the authors wanted to focus on multicultural skills and relational leadership as enablers for OI. The authors recommend that future studies extend our research by unpacking how various boundary conditions including relational leadership and multicultural skills impact KSS and OI over the life cycle of innovation teams within large multinational organizations, across countries and ethnicities.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings provide managers with improved understandings of how to enable an individual's willingness and readiness to source and share knowledge through multicultural skills and relational leadership. Managers need to ensure that human resource management (HRM) practices celebrate multicultural skills and support relational leadership in innovation teams. The authors suggest managers engaged in OI consider the components of social exchange as described by Meeker (1971) and utilize reciprocity, group gain, rationality and status consistency to support the emergence relational leadership and KSS in innovation teams.Originality/valueIn this paper, the authors contribute to the dearth of literature on the boundary conditions for OI by examining the role of relational leadership and characteristics/skills of the workforce, namely multicultural skills and contribute to the scarce research on the role of employees with multicultural skills and their impact on OI and present multicultural skills/experiences and relational leadership as enablers for OI.


Author(s):  
Ainurul Rosli ◽  
Peter Robinson

This chapter looks into the importance of having a clear identity of a boundary spanner in determining the role of the partners in a university-industry knowledge transfer programme. It highlights issues around the relationship between the business and the graduate as the boundary spanner, where the university's level of control differs between two programmes: Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) and Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise Network (KEEN) programme. The four case studies illustrate interesting points since the university is the employer for the KTPs associate and the business is the employer for the KEEN associate, whilst successful KTP and KEEN projects rely on a full understanding of the role of the graduate within the business.


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