In this paper, we develop and test a firm-level contingency model of inbound open innovation in an attempt to contribute to explaining the substantial disparities in open innovation payoff that exist between firms. Integrating elements from the resource- and knowledge-based views and the...

This paper focuses on French SMEs and studies their main characteristics regarding knowledge-capital formation and valorisation. We put forward what we may call a “French Paradox”, expressed by a quite important effort in terms of R&D investments and poor results in terms of innovation as...

This paper deals with the open innovation mode in the environmental realm and investigates the effects that knowledge sourcing has on the environmental innovations (EIs) of firms. Using the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) 2006–2008, we refer to the firm's probability of both introducing an...

The discussion on open innovation suggests that the ability to absorb external knowledge has become a major driver for competition. In the case of inbound open innovation, companies screen their environment to search for the appropriate technology and knowledge and do not exclusively rely on...

Absorptive capacity is often touted as being important for the success of open innovation. Yet different absorptive capacities may be required for inbound versus outbound open innovation. Using process research of how multiple firms participated in the development of a groundbreaking...

Firms compete increasingly in an open innovation environment. Search strategies for external knowledge become therefore crucial for firm success. Existing research differentiates between the breadth (diversity) and depth (intensity) with which firms pursue external knowledge source. A consensus...

Searching for externally available knowledge has been characterised as a vital part of the innovation process. Previous research has, however, almost exclusively focused on hightechnology environments, largely ignoring the substantial low- and medium-technology sectors of modern economies. We...