Open innovations as a means of increasing the competitiveness of enterprises on a global scale

Abstract

Research background: Innovation is considered to be the driving force of any economy. In many cases, innovations are perceived as a means of increasing the competitiveness of companies or streamlining business processes. In cases where companies have introduced innovations into their practice, this has been reflected in their financial economy, and in many cases better financial results have been achieved. Purpose of the article: The article deals with the issue of open innovations and addresses the degree of implementation of open innovations in companies operating on the Slovak market. The aim of the paper is to identify the state of use of the concept of open innovation. It also aims to find out whether companies applying this concept are interested in obtaining funds from public sources and which public sources are most interested in. Methods: As part of the analysis of the state of use of open innovations in the conditions of companies operating in the Slovak economy, descriptive and comparative methods are used, on the basis of which is possible find out the interest of companies in the concept of open innovations. The results are displayed through a description and graphical display. Findings & Value added: Based on the findings, it can be stated that 64.34% of companies have addressed the concept of open innovation in their practice. Regarding the interest of companies in public sources of financing for open innovation, the most common sources are the European Structural Funds.

Keywords

• open innovation
• small and medium enterprises
• competitiveness
• public sources of financing