Degree of Openness and Performance in the Search for Innovation

Abstract

External knowledge has been the object of increasing attention in the past few years, corresponding to the rise in company innovation models that are based on a higher degree of openness towards external actors. This study investigates the practices that firms adopt in searching for external knowledge to innovate their products, exploring the relationships between performance of innovation processes and the breadth and depth of search practices. In so doing, we explore the role of openness through the lens of search practices, rather than examining the variety of external actors from which firms draw relevant knowledge for product innovation.