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. The research emphasizes on various open innovation strategies for SMEs at the outset by focusing transformation of innovation processes from a closed boundary leading to a networked paradigm, try to provide some overview on a few innovation strategies, and develop a business model. The paper also discusses about some challenges and barriers that SMEs are facing in implementing open innovation strategies. Before conclusion, it put forwards issues of future research.

Researches indicate that adoption of open innovation strategies in the entrepreneurships offers a promising way to face the ever increasing challenges due to globalization of entrepreneurships. However, in spite of abundance of researches, practices and case studies on adoption of open innovation strategies in relatively larger firms or corporate houses, studies are rare in the other sector of the entrepreneurships, which is popularly known as the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). This study has tried to find out the parameters of challenges that are being faced by the SMEs. A questionnaire has been placed on the Surveymonkey and a few selected companies were approached to participate in the web based survey. Due to the limitation of finding a larger contact list, this paper discusses about the findings of the completed survey, which is being termed as the pilot one. The findings are being discussed within the texts and it is expected that a new survey will start soon with a list containing larger number of companies.

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With the extended application of information technologies, the conventional education system has crossed the physical boundaries to reach the unreached through virtual education system. In distant mode of education, students get opportunity to education through self-learning methods with the use of technology-mediated techniques. Accumulating a few other available technologies, efforts are being made to promote distance education in remotest regions of the developing countries through institutional collaborations and adaptive use of collaborative learning systems (Rahman, 2000a). Distance education in a networked environment demands extensive use of computerized LAN/WAN, excessive use of bandwidth, expensive use of sophisticated networking equipment, and in a sense, this is becoming a hard-to-achieve target in developing countries. High initial investment cost always demarcates thorough usage of networked hierarchies where the basic backbone infrastructure of IT is in a rudimentary stage. Furthermore, multimedia puts additional pressure on communications systems with types of information flow, bandwidth requirements, development of local and wide area networks with a likely impact on narrowband and broadband ISDN. Developed countries are taking a leading role in spearheading distance education through flexible learning methods, and many renowned universities of the western world are offering highly specialized and demanding distance education courses by using their dedicated high bandwidth computer networks. Many others have accepted a dual mode of education, rather than sticking to the conventional education system. Research indicates that teaching and studying at a distance can be as effective as traditional instruction when the method and technologies used are appropriate to the instructional tasks with intensive learner-to-learner interactions, and instructor-to-learner interactions. Radio, television, and computer technologies, including the Internet and interactive multimedia methods, are major components of the virtual learning methodologies. The goals of distance education, as an alternative to traditional education, have been to offer accredited education programs, to eradicate illiteracy in developing countries, to provide capacity development programs for better economic growth, and to offer curriculum enrichment in the nonformal educational arena. Distance education has experienced dramatic global growth since the early 1980s. It has evolved from early correspondence learning using primarily print-based materials into a global movement using various technologies.

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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.

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Adoption of innovation strategies in entrepreneurship is an age old phenomenon, but inclusion of open innovation or collaborative innovation strategies in the business processes is a newly evolved concept. By far, most research reveals that the majority of successful global ventures are adopting open innovation strategies in their business proceedings. However, despite their contribution to entrepreneurship and national economy, the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) are well below the expectation level in terms of acquiring this newly emerged trend of doing business. Moreover, not much research is being conducted to investigate SMEs potencies, expectations, delivery channels and intricacies around the adoption, nourishment and dissemination of open innovation strategies. This research proposes a contextual framework leading to an operational framework to explore the lifecycle of open innovation strategy management activities focusing technology transfer (inbounds or outwards). It discusses a few issues on future research in empowering SMEs through utilization of open innovation strategies.