How to Find the Right Partner? Open Innovation Partner Selection Process

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of the partner selection process for open innovation. The inability to choose partners can lead to problems such as opportunistic behavior, the failure of open innovation, and a reluctance to collaborate. Therefore, partner selection is crucial in open innovation. Attention is directed to the determining factors that must be considered in the selection of a partner. The contents of the paper are mainly based on in-depth interviews with experts and practitioners who represent both organizations and individuals as actors in open innovation activities. The results show that complementarity, compatibility, and trust are important considerations in selecting the right partner. The implication of this research is that a managerial approach is needed that supports the company’s ability to find and evaluate external sources of knowledge to support innovation. The originality of this article is to provide an understanding that the existence of an organization in a network helps organizations access external knowledge resources. Involving external parties in the company’s innovation process accelerates innovation. In this case, getting the right partner is very important.

Keywords

• open innovation
• collaborative innovation
• partner selection process
• managerial approach