Few studies on open innovation (OI) have addressed OI practices in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and how their use of OI and resulting benefits differ from large enterprises. The lack of resources in SMEs to engage in looking outward is said to be a barrier to OI, but at the same...

In this paper we explore how SMEs engage in external knowledge sourcing, a form of inbound open innovation. We draw upon a sample of 1,411 SMEs and empirically conceptualize a typology of strategic types of external knowledge sourcing, namely minimal, supply-chain, technology-oriented,...

resources to cope with issues that arise in the various stages of the innovation process. These are often lacking in private family small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Such firms usually do not possess the required diversity of in-house resources and expertise, which makes it...

Henry Chesbrough and his collaborators investigate the phenomenon of 'Open Innovation', in which firms draw on research and development outside their own boundaries. The book's contributors link the practice of open innovation to the established body of innovation research, showing what's new...

The existing literature on open innovation mostly concentrates on large firms. Little is known about the role of open innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this paper we explore how SMEs engage in open innovation search. We draw upon a new survey of 1,489 SMEs. Results...

Part of the advantages of using open innovation (compared to closed innovation) in corporate venturing can be explained by applying the real options approach. Open innovation in risk-laden activities such as corporate venturing has the following advantages: (i) benefits from early involvement in...

This study examines the effect of external and relational uncertainty on the governance choice for inter-organizational technology sourcing. We develop a number of hypotheses about the impact of environmental turbulence, technological newness, technological distance and prior cooperation on the...

It is commonly accepted nowadays that external knowledge sources are important for firms’ innovative performance. However, it is still not clear, what dimensions of firms’ external knowledge search strategy are crucial in determining their innovation success and whether these search...

Firms tend toward local search when they continue to build on own technological knowledge. Therefore, technological exploration has usually been associated with some form of boundary spanning activities. In line with previous research this study focuses on organizational or external...

In an era with abundant and widely distributed knowledge across the globe, technology markets became prominent. As technology transactions suffer from several market imperfections, a rapidly increasing number of various innovation intermediaries are facilitating these transactions. We analyse...