Promoting Future Sustainable Transition by Overcoming the Openness Paradox in KIE Firms

Abstract

A key issue for transition to a more sustainable future is how to promote collaboration for innovation amongst multiple diverse partners. However, collaborating for innovation requires that firms overcome the paradox of openness, i.e., they need to be open to collaboration to innovate and at the same time protect their internal knowledge and intellectual assets to appropriate value from their innovations. The aim of this paper is to investigate how knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial (KIE) firms can overcome this paradox—which is an important barrier to future transitions—by choosing a combination of collaborative partners and appropriability strategies that support their ability to create more radical innovations. We analyze a sample of over 2450 KIE firms, drawing from a cross-European survey. Our results indicate how different partners, and different appropriability strategies, are more, or less, relevant to the generation of the radical innovations needed to transform society into one with a sustainable future; university collaboration and the use of formal protection mechanisms seem especially important for such new-to-the-world innovations. Our study includes important policy implications for how to support and promote future sustainable transitions and also establishes a foundation for future lines of research regarding entrepreneurship and sustainable transition.

Dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation in ecosystems

“…For instance, how KIE firms can use their embeddedness in systems to access specific types of resources, during the pre-entry, the establishment, and the post-entry phases in specific industries or sectors helps to assess and generalize entrepreneurial ventures for KIE firms (Hermanson et al, 2018). Nonetheless, KIE firms must overcome the paradox of opening up for collaborative innovation while at the same time protecting their internal knowledge and intellectual assets for greater appropriation of value from such innovations (Lassen et al, 2020).…”

“…In ecosystems, established firms may develop DC through ambidexterity in exploration of new network and exploitation of existing network ties for intrapreneurial capabilities development (Faridian & Neubam, 2021). However, for KIE firms, since networks at different levels of analysis affect EE development (Neumeyer & Santos, 2018: Nicotra et al, 2018, they need ambidexterity strategies to address the paradox of openness to innovation and protection of internal knowledge and intellectual assets (Amankwah-Amoah & Adomako, 2021; Lassen et al, 2020). While ambidexterity is important for both established and KIE firms in ecosystems, DC ecosystems and EE research limit such ambidexterity as a result of defined and static identities of firms from either the sector or value chain positions.…”

“…However, for KIE firms, integration capabilities in co-specialized resource facilitates protection of knowledge and intellectual assets while opening up for collaborative innovation to enhance its internal knowledge resources (Lassen et al, 2020). Thus, integration capabilities in co-specialized resources will lead to different exchange orientations between existing and KIE firms to minimize internal cost.…”

“…The implications for the theory and practice of dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation are outlined. important to access specific types of resources during the pre-entry, the establishment, and the postentry phases in specific sectors (Hermanson, McKelvey, & Zaring, 2018) and overcome the paradox of openness for innovation opportunities while protecting internal knowledge and intellectual assets to appropriate value from their innovations within or across sectors (Lassen, Ljungberg, & McKelvey, 2020). Accordingly, DEC requires KIE firms to adopt EE approach to leverage digital platform affordances in ecosystems for entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and pursuit (Autio et al, 2018).However, DEC will enable existing firms to adopt a fluid and open, rather than closed, boundaries for value co-creation (Chesbrough, 2007;Reypens, Lievens, & Blazevic, 2016) to constantly learn, unlearn, and relearn how the structures of their internal and external boundaries facilitate ambidexterity for intrepreneurial capabilities development (Faridian & Neubaum, 2021;Santos & Eisenhardt, 2005…”

“…The implications for the theory and practice of dynamic exchange capabilities for value co-creation are outlined. important to access specific types of resources during the pre-entry, the establishment, and the postentry phases in specific sectors (Hermanson, McKelvey, & Zaring, 2018) and overcome the paradox of openness for innovation opportunities while protecting internal knowledge and intellectual assets to appropriate value from their innovations within or across sectors (Lassen, Ljungberg, & McKelvey, 2020). Accordingly, DEC requires KIE firms to adopt EE approach to leverage digital platform affordances in ecosystems for entrepreneurial opportunity discovery and pursuit (Autio et al, 2018).…”