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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the way companies involved in Open Innovation Processes (OIPs) routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge, i.e. knowledge that comes from the outside and, in particular, from the crowd. In-bound knowledge passes through the phases of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation. Thus, companies need to define mechanisms and paths – related to their potential and realized absorptive capacity –to manage and exploit it. Design/methodology/approach The present paper is based on a longitudinal case study, an OIP launched by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) that has already been implemented for three times. Multiple direct interviews with FCA top managers have allowed rebuilding the routinized procedure through which the company absorbs in-bound knowledge. Findings To routinize the procedure of absorbing in-bound knowledge, the company has settled specific mechanisms and paths and has established some bottlenecks over the process of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of in-bound knowledge. These mechanisms and path, as well as these bottlenecks, are identified and descripted in the paper. Research limitations/implications Beyond the limitations linked to the use of a single case study, another limitation might be the reference to a big company in a specific industry. Anyway, with due caution, achieved findings can be referred to other industries as well. Originality/value This paper contributes to exploring if and how companies managing OIPs routinize the procedure through which they can absorb in-bound knowledge.

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PurposeThis paper investigates the link between Intellectual Capital (IC) and Open Innovation (OI). Scholars worldwide consider the topics as standing alone and so they give scarce attention to the possible link between them. Managerial experiences (and few theoretical contributions), instead, hypothesize a significant role that IC can play over OI processes in order make them successful.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology of a single case study is used to investigate the link between IC and OI. In particular, an OI process managed by a global company, LEGO, and named Mindstorms is rebuilt and analysed herein.FindingsIntermediate results achieved by LEGO through its OI process were unsuccessful since the company had not developed its own IC (made up of relational, human and structural capital). The subsequent development of IC, instead, has driven to successful results. This suggests that if companies do not develop their IC before launching OI processes, then these processes might be not successful.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation is the use of a single case study. Despite this, the present article is a warning for all the companies: before launching OI processes they need to develop their IC.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, this is one of the first works that deepens the investigation of the link between IC and OI. Very often, scholars investigating IC shyly refer to OI, without mentioning it, while the scholars investigating OI allude to IC, without citing it. In this study, IC and OI are investigated together.

PurposeOrganizational culture plays a central role when dealing with the issue of digital business transformation (DBT). Managers handling a DBT and involved in digital strateging are expected to modify the organizational culture of firms to make it more fitting with the paradigm of digital economy and having more chance of success. Thus, it is noteworthy to inspect the role they can have over DBTs. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the behavior that managers assume when they approach DBTs by investigating whether they act as mentors/facilitators or entrepreneurs/innovators, as coordinators or decision makers.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the above purpose, ten case studies about manufacturing firms have been selected. Case studies, retrieved by the Digital Innovation Observatories of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, are studied and analyzed by means of a qualitative content analysis on textual data. This allows getting specific insights into organizational culture before and after DBT and about the role played by managers.FindingsAchieved results disclose that managers need to modify the organizational culture of their firms to handle a successful DBT. However, firms can assume different organizational culture and thus the role assumed by managers handling a DBT can change as well.Originality/valueTo the authors knowledge, this paper is among the first that aim to investigate the role that mangers assume when handling DBTs. In particular, originality lies in the fact that assumed roles are rebuilt in reference to their ability to modify organizational culture.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether and to what extent equity crowdfunding (ECF) is able to build enduring businesses. This research explores the post-campaign growth of equity-crowdfunded companies and analyses the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on their growth. To achieve the above aim, we provide a theoretical framework that includes the three well-known dimensions of IC – i.e. human, structural and relational capital – as independent variables and company growth, meant as sales and employment growth, as dependent variable. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a quantitative methodology based on two regression analyses. The authors use hand-collected data on 51 successful equity-crowdfunded projects listed on seven Italian platforms. Findings The authors find that three variables, namely prior industry experience (human-capital), product innovation (structural-capital) and equity offered (relational-capital) are significant and positively related to the growth of equity-crowdfunded companies. In particular, prior industry experience positively influences sales growth; product innovation positively influences employment growth. Equity offered, instead, has a strong positive impact on both sales and employment growth. Companies that offer a larger percentage of equity during the campaign disclose higher probabilities of growth. Practical implications The study has useful implications for several stakeholders, in particular, founders, platform managers, crowdfunders, policy makers and authorities. Originality/value The results shed some light on the nascent research field related to post-campaign scenarios of equity-crowdfunded companies. This paper is the first to explore the impact of IC on the growth of companies funded through ECF.