Managing knowledge assets for open innovation: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose Knowledge assumes a pivotal role in the open innovation (OI) paradigm. Yet OI has been scantly investigated by adopting a knowledge management (KM) lens. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review of the KM practices analysed by prior literature to support OI activities. Design/methodology/approach To perform a valuable literature review, the steps for systematic review proposed by previous studies have been adopted. These steps have yielded a final sample of 34 articles. Afterward, the authors have distinguished and analysed the identified articles according to the three main OI processes, i.e. inbound, outbound and coupled OI processes. Findings This research groups and highlights the most relevant KM practices to support OI activities on the basis of the inbound, outbound and coupled OI processes. Originality/value Despite knowledge is the most relevant resource exchanged in OI activities, this is the first attempt to highlight how knowledge should be managed in an OI context by adopting a KM lens. Furthermore, the authors also identify relevant topics that have been so far understudied, which the authors suggest as future research directions.

Open Innovation and Innovation Intermediaries in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…As highlighted by Nonaka [36], a critical aspect of knowledge creation and innovation is problem formulation. The adoption of proper organizational and managerial practices, particularly knowledge management practices, is crucial to enable firms to explicitly identify and formulate their problems and, consequently, to be able to embrace open innovation [4].…”

“…In this study, we understand open innovation as "the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for [the] external use of innovation, respectively [37]". The adoption of suitable knowledge management practices in the firm are of the utmost relevance to embrace the open innovation paradigm [4]. The literature identifies three main processes through which firms establish these practices, namely, inbound, outbound, and coupled [4,38].…”

“…The existing literature on open innovation, knowledge management, and innovation intermediaries is mostly based on studies of firms in developed or emerging economies [1][2][3][4][5]. This study presents the STI landscape from the perspective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in sub-Saharan Africa, changing the widely adopted perspective from firms as the unit of analysis, to policy influencers, such as the Science Granting Councils (SGCs).…”

Equity crowdfunding in technology transfer strategies and licensing

“…As knowledge management theory suggests, digital platforms can increase the exchange of resources and the sharing of knowledge through desorption (DCAP) (Korbi, Chouki, 2017). For this reason, this dimension had been widely employed in the literature on open innovation (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998;Mollick, 2013;Natalicchio et al, 2017). Starting from this theoretical background, this study develops a theoretical model aimed at analyzing and managing the effects of this strategic dimension of knowledge management on equity crowdfunding performance.…”

Building theory on the negotiation capability of the firm: evidence from Ryanair

“…By this, we infer that an organization that considers its negotiations from a systemic perspective -and acts upon it -may through these means find some sources of performance. In other words, similarly to innovation, negotiation, seen and nurtured as a strategic capability, has the propensity to help firms unleash themselves from structural market constraints and support their competitive advantage (e.g., Natalicchio et al, 2017). Therefore, a systemic approach to negotiation should help organizations better achieve their strategic objectives.…”