Regional open innovation system as a platform for SMEs: a survey

Abstract

Emerging changes in the knowledge era has brought out the idea of open innovation, suggesting that ideas for innovations can emerge or go to market from outside the company as well as inside. A regional open innovation system, the innovation network comprised of different actors working towards a creation of innovations in a certain region, can offer a favourable platform for collaboration between companies. We examine a concept for a regional innovation system as a cooperational platform enabling the open innovation approach from the SMEs' point of view. Results from a survey of 175 SMEs in four EU regions are reported in order to highlight the situation of the collaborative field of the regional innovation system to map the potential of external sourcing and exchanging of innovations in these regions. Based on the results of the survey, suggestions of an efficient model for open innovation empowering collaboration inside the regional innovation system are presented.