Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the adoption of the open innovation paradigm in the bio‐pharmaceutical industry and investigate through which organisational modes (e.g. collaborations, in‐ and out‐licensing) open innovation has been implemented and how these modes are...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the organizational aspects of an open innovation approach by focusing on the relationship between universities and firms as a vehicle for acquiring technological knowledge. It discusses in detail the characteristics of firm organizational...

Purpose – Nowadays, the strategic role of design is reinforced by the increased attention that customers pay to the aesthetic, symbolic and emotional values of products. These values can be communicated through the appropriate combination of product signs (such as form, colours, materials and...

Purpose – Many companies claim they are adopting an open approach to innovation, but each of them with its own way. This paper aims to explore the different models for opening up the innovation process adopted in practice. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an extended survey...

Purpose – The paper, covering the actual argument of open innovation, aims to answer two main research questions, namely: “Which open innovation approach is adopted by the companies belonging to the ICTs industry?” and “Which types of collaborations are carried out by the companies and...

Purpose – Considering the strikingly high number of new products and services that are withdrawn from the market very soon after launch, the aim of this paper is to study how early market survival is affected by decisions regarding a particular launch tactic, i.e. the configuration of the...

This paper explores the meaning of relationship selling in the light of sales force developments during the “relational era”. Starting from a review of relationship marketing, personal selling and sales management literature, it defines a “firm's selling orientation” (FSO) and designs a...

Purpose – The main research question of the paper is to determine whether technology nowadays is overcome by customer preferences and needs. In particular, the role of the brand is to be analysed with respect to its influence in shifting customer preferences from the technical performances...