Open innovation processes within clusters – the role of tertius iugens

Abstract

Purpose – Little research focuses on the conditions under which companies open up to co-develop knowledge with external actors. Spatial proximity has been proved insufficient to generate successful open innovation processes: socio-economic proximity also seems required. This paper aims at better understanding how this new form of proximity can be organized and investigates the role of third parties or tertius iungens in this process. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on an exploratory case of successful open innovation between a software editor and a systems integrator located in the same cluster, relying on 50 face-to-face in-depth interviews, documentation and analysis of physical artifacts. Findings – It confirms that socio-economic and in particular coordination proximity favors open innovation processes. This proximity is facilitated by a third party acting as a sustained iungens to initiate contact between development partners and key customers, and to practically organize knowledge transfer. The paper suggests that to be effective this tertius iungens needs to occupy a central position in the local network and to exhibit the characteristics of an epistemic community. Research limitations/implications – Due to its exploratory design, the authors' research exhibits several limitations in terms of generalization. It does not fully appreciate the specific interaction between the various dimensions of proximity and in what respect spatial proximity positively influences or reinforces the development of socioeconomic proximity. Further research is needed to analyze the relationships between these various forms of proximity and understand whether spatial proximity is required in a context where new information technologies ease up relationship and coordination mechanisms. Another limitation is linked to the character of the open innovation project analyzed which focused on an innovation of exploitation. Practical implications – This paper suggests that territorial engineering should favor the emergence of organizations playing the role of tertius iungens in the local network. Such organizations need to have the technical expertise and image of benevolence and integrity to manage knowledge transfer. Originality/value – Little research analyzes the role of third parties or tertius iungens in the emergence and management of open innovation processes. The literature on clusters has mostly highlighted that inter-organizational cooperation emerges from spatial proximity and can be organized by public authorities whereas most of the open innovation literature on software describes cooperation patterns that do not require any third party.

A Bibliometric Review of Open Innovation: Setting a Research Agenda

“…Management emerges as a new theme, indicating an increased attention to managing OI through, for example, corporate venturing, strategic alliances, patent, and IP portfolio management (e.g., Li and Kozhikode, ; Rohrbeck, ). With network appearing as a new theme, OI research seems to be expanding from the firm‐ to the network‐level (e.g., Rampersad, Quester, and Troshani, ) to focus more on how the systemic processes (e.g., Crespin‐Mazet, Goglio‐Primard, and Scheid, ; Michelfelder and Kratzer, ) and social relationships (e.g., Huggins, ) across OI networks can be managed. Moreover, the role of institutional networks, public sector, national and regional systems of innovation and government policy making is also emerging into a pertinent topic in OI (note the appearance of policy as a theme and “government” and “public” as concepts) (Agarwal et al, ; Bodas Freitas, Geuna, and Rossi, ; Lee, Hwang, and Choi, ).…”

Triads

“…This perspective is important for research on innovation. For example, it helps understand the important roles intermediaries play in the innovation system by connecting and facilitating among other actors (Cabanelas et al, 2013;Crespin-Mazet et al, 2013;Howells, 2006;Stewart and Hyysalo, 2010). It also shows how the position of the intermediary across multiple networks and industries allows it to integrate knowledge and solutions from different contexts for new purposes (Hargadon and Sutton, 1997).…”

Proximity and centrality in inter-organisational collaborations for innovation

“…The role of proximity in favouring the transmission of knowledge in innovation and inter-organisational networks has received increasing attention recently (Aguiléra et al , 2012; Broekel and Boschma, 2011; Balland et al , 2013; Cassi and Plunket, 2014; Balland et al , 2016; Crespin-Mazet et al , 2013). Capone and Lazzeretti (2018), with a search of the ISI Web of Science database, showed that there are more than 900 studies related to the role of proximity in inter-organisational networks, and there has been astonishing growth in such studies in recent years, with around 100 articles published each year.…”

“…In this context, a significant amount of attention has increasingly been devoted to the role of similarity among partners in forming new relationships either in general (Molina-Morales et al , 2015; Ahuja et al , 2009; Crespin-Mazet et al , 2013; Capone et al , 2018) or specifically in the aerospace clusters (Alberti and Pizzurno, 2015; Biggiero and Sammarra, 2010; Cooke and Ehret, 2009; Levy and Talbot, 2015).…”