Patterns of Implementation of OI in MNCs

Open innovation (OI) is an innovation paradigm !rst described by Chesbrough ten years ago (2003a). Since then it has received substantial interest from practitioners, with !rms in many sectors progressively adopting a variety of open practices. Policymakers are also increasingly recognizing OI’s potential economic value1 and are encouraging its adoption. Some academics envision a future where the OI model will be fully integrated in !rms’ innovation management activities (Huizingh, 2011) even though a recent review (Schroll & Mild, 2012) estimates that OI activities have currently been implemented in only 20‒45% of companies (Schroll & Mild, 2012) and very few single determinants behind the adoption of OI practices have been identi!ed. #e highest rate of agreement is that turbulent environments (industry, market, and/ or technology) encourage the adoption of OI (Schweitzer et al., 2011), whilst there is high uncertainty on other factors. Underpinning the successful OI implementation is an understanding of how !rms adopt this model to determine what approaches work and what do not. As OI is for many !rms an innovation in itself (Christensen, 2006), studying OI adoption also presents a new opportunity to enhance the theory of innovation implementation. Only a few scholars to date have committed e$orts to researching OI implementation patterns (e.g. Chesbrough, 2003a; Chesbrough, 2006a; Chiaroni et al., 2010; Chiaroni et al., 2011; Christensen et al., 2005; Mortara & Minshall, 2011). #is line of enquiry has been popular particularly in European !rms (and more speci!cally, in Italy, e.g. Buganza et al., 2011; Chiaroni et al., 2010; Chiaroni et al., 2011; Di Minin et al., 2010; Pellegrini et al., 2012; Petroni et al., 2012). In an attempt to consolidate the knowledge to date on OI implementation, this chapter reviews the richest available data, i.e. the evidence on OI adoption OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – REVISES, Mon Aug 04 2014, NEWGEN