The Effectiveness of Open Innovation: Do Size and Performance of Open Innovation Groups Matter?

Abstract

Innovation is accelerated by heterogeneous knowledge, which is obtained in open innovation. We investigate whether there are limits to the beneficial degree of openness. Conceiving innovator group size as a trade-off between knowledge heterogeneity and coordination costs for innovating groups, we theorise about the impact of group size on innovative performance. We hypothesise that openness and internationalisation positively moderate this relationship, but that the positive effects are limited by the trade-off between knowledge heterogeneity and coordination costs. Through an empirical investigation using a large set of international patent data, we find support for our conceptual development and are able to conclude how many individuals those groups contain that generate the most innovative performance. Groups of three inventors have the most positive impact, and groups of two to eight inventors also generate positive effects. Science-based industries however allow for bigger groups than other industries, and supplier-dominated industries have smaller beneficial group sizes.

Maneuvering the bumps in the New Silk Road: Open innovation, technological complexity, dominant design, and the international impact of Chinese innovation

“…Patents are also useful for studying the relationship between connectivity and innovation, as patent data are particularly rich and includes information, that is, regarding the breadth and scope of technology as well as information about the authors including their location. Thus, patents have been used to study open innovation (Hitchen et al, 2017; Suh and Jeon, 2019), technological complexity (Fleming and Sorenson, 2001; Ivanova et al, 2017), and dominant design (Brem et al, 2016; Huenteler et al, 2016).…”

“…Open is the average degree of open innovation for a country’s patents in a year. Open innovation denotes purposive interorganizational collaboration (Chesbrough, 2003), and such collaboration has been quantified with patent data since patent records indicate which organizations collaborated on each patent application (Hitchen et al, 2017; Suh and Jeon, 2019). Hence, we use the average number of applicants, for example, firms, universities, or public laboratories (Guellec and van Pottelsberghe de la Potterie, 2001) for each country year.…”

Will Increasing Government Subsidies Promote Open Innovation? A Simulation Analysis of China’s Wind Power Industry

“…This can ultimately lead to the end of the cooperation [8]. The identification of strategies for improving the stability and sustainability of cooperation in open innovation is an urgent need that must be addressed both theoretically and practically [9,10].…”

Open-Innovation and Open-Source Software Projects: Challenges and Role of Financial Constraint

“…OI is a key trend in innovation practices as well as in research (Fu, 2012). Different studies have been conducted which explain the OI as well as explain the effect of OI on different firm's innovative performance (Chesbrough, 2003b;Dahlander & Gann, 2010;Enkel, Gassmann, & Chesbrough, 2009;Hitchen, Nylund & Viardot, 2017). Generally, the OI phenomenon is connected with open source software projects (West & Hameed et al Open-Innovation and Open-Source Software .…”

“…As to motivate different factors that contribute to OI such as employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders, requires rewards and other benefits which is a costly process. EK incorporation requires coordination with a supplier which increases the overall cost (Hitchen, Nylund & Viardot, 2017). Furthermore, to enhance II, R & D department is mandatory which is a costly process.…”