The Case of a Portuguese Intermediary of Open Innovation

External Resources ◽

Intellectual Assets ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

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.

Open Innovation Strategies in SMEs

Small and Medium Enterprises ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3886-0.ch015 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 281-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hakikur Rahman ◽

Isabel Ramos

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Value Chain ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Economic Gain ◽

Innovation Strategies ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Financial Base ◽

Partnership Approach ◽

Corporate Business

Open innovation in entrepreneurships already finds its acceptance at all levels of the business industry for adding value to the business. The value could be in the form of economic gain or enhancement of knowledge leading to a sustained financial base. Open innovation adopts various strategies to accomplish the task for enhancing the value gain. Varying by size, nature, pattern, or characteristics of the firm various strategies are being adopted by enterprises. Though largely known to be familiar in corporate business houses, in recent years open innovation is also becoming increasingly familiar in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the trend is rapidly increasing. However, despite the potency of open innovation strategies, most of the enterprises are yet to find a sustained business model, especially for the SMEs working at the periphery of that value chain. This forms the basis of the current study. This chapter is trying to formulate a business model incorporating partnership approach from academia, research houses, intermediaries, and other stakeholders.

Open Innovation in SMEs

Small and Medium Enterprises ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3886-0.ch009 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 160-174

Author(s):

Hakikur Rahman

Keyword(s):

Open Innovation ◽

Technological Development ◽

Innovation Research ◽

Outer Periphery ◽

Collaborative Innovation ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Successful Innovation ◽

Corporate Business ◽

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.

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

European Journal of Innovation Management ◽

10.1108/ejim-01-2019-0013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 524-550

Author(s):

Preecha Chaochotechuang ◽

Farhad Daneshgar ◽

Stefania Mariano

Keyword(s):

Open Innovation ◽

Search Space ◽

Exploratory Research ◽

Content Type ◽

External Knowledge ◽

Search Heuristics ◽

Knowledge Search ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

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.

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

Journal of Open Innovation Technology Market and Complexity ◽

10.3390/joitmc6040179 ◽

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 ◽

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

E-Business Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs ◽

10.4018/978-1-61692-880-3.ch022 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 378-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hakikur Rahman

Keyword(s):

Open Innovation ◽

Technological Development ◽

Innovation Research ◽

Outer Periphery ◽

Collaborative Innovation ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Successful Innovation ◽

Corporate Business ◽

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.

Open Innovation Strategies in SMEs

10.4018/978-1-7998-4799-1.ch005 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 137-162

Author(s):

Hakikur Rahman

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Value Chain ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Innovation Strategies ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Financial Base ◽

Partnership Approach ◽

Corporate Business

Open innovation in enterprises has already obtained its acceptance at all levels of the business industry for adding worth to the business. The value could be in the form of economic expanse or enhancement of knowledge leading to a sustained financial base. Open innovation adopts various strategies to accomplish the task for enhancing the value gain. Varying by size, nature, pattern, or characteristics of the firm, various strategies are being adopted by enterprises. Though largely known to be familiar in corporate business houses, in recent years, open innovation is also becoming increasingly recognizable in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and the trend is rapidly escalating. However, despite the potency of open innovation strategies, most of the enterprises are yet to find a sustained business model, especially for the SMEs working at the outmost periphery of that value chain. This chapter is trying to formulate a business model incorporating partnership approach from academia, research houses, intermediaries, practitioners, and other stakeholders.

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

RAM Revista de Administração Mackenzie ◽

10.1590/1678-6971/eramr180095 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Baggio ◽

Douglas Wegner ◽

Gustavo Dalmarco

Keyword(s):

Open Innovation ◽

Collaborative Research ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Coordination Mechanisms ◽

Internal Resources ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Depth Interviews ◽

Inside Out ◽

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.

Open Innovation Strategies in SMEs

SMEs and Open Innovation ◽

10.4018/978-1-61350-519-9.ch011 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 224-237

Author(s):

Hakikur Rahman ◽

Isabel Ramos

Keyword(s):

Business Model ◽

Value Chain ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Economic Gain ◽

Innovation Strategies ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

Financial Base ◽

Partnership Approach ◽

Corporate Business

Open innovation in entrepreneurships already finds its acceptance at all levels of the business industry for adding value to the business. The value could be in the form of economic gain or enhancement of knowledge leading to a sustained financial base. Open innovation adopts various strategies to accomplish the task for enhancing the value gain. Varying by size, nature, pattern, or characteristics of the firm various strategies are being adopted by enterprises. Though largely known to be familiar in corporate business houses, in recent years open innovation is also becoming increasingly familiar in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the trend is rapidly increasing. However, despite the potency of open innovation strategies, most of the enterprises are yet to find a sustained business model, especially for the SMEs working at the periphery of that value chain. This forms the basis of the current study. This chapter is trying to formulate a business model incorporating partnership approach from academia, research houses, intermediaries, and other stakeholders.

Open Innovation with Relational Capital, Technological Innovation Capital, and International Performance in SMEs

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063418 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3418

Author(s):

Dongwoo Ryu ◽

Kwang Ho Baek ◽

Junghyun Yoon

Keyword(s):

Technological Innovation ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Relational Capital ◽

Innovation Capability ◽

Perspective View ◽

International Performance ◽

Medium Enterprises ◽

The Relationship

The importance of international markets is constantly emphasized for small and medium enterprises(SMEs). In previous studies, technological innovation capabilities were emphasized as a factor that enables SMEs to compete in the international market. To this end, SMEs need to cooperate with external partners to strengthen their technological innovation capabilities to thus improve their international performance. With the perspective view of open innovation, this research explores the effects of relational capital and technological innovation capability on international performance, with a particular focus on the moderating effect of alliance proactiveness. Building on previous literature regarding internationalization, technological innovation, and alliance proactiveness, research hypotheses were developed and tested using data collected from 175 SMEs. A hierarchical regression analysis was applied. The analysis showed that, first, relational capital had a significant effect on the technological innovation capability. Second, technological innovation capability has a significant influence on the international performance. Third, technological innovation capability mediated the relationship between relational capital and international performance. Finally, alliance proactiveness was found to moderate the relationship between technological innovation capability and international performance. The key research findings imply that relational capital and alliance proactiveness are the key factors of international performance, as they improved the development of the technological innovation capability.