An Analysis of Open Innovation Strategies in Firms in Low and Medium Technology Industries

Abstract

Open innovation (OI) has been mainly associated with high-technology firms. This paper aims to analyze how firms in low and medium technology industries implement their OI strategy. In doing so, we explore common patterns in OI strategies by considering inbound, outbound, and coupled OI practices. We also examine whether there are differences in innovation performance among companies adopting a specific OI strategy. The study is carried out on a sample of 242 Spanish innovating companies. Based on the relevance of the different OI practices, we identify three types of OI firms: advanced open innovators, intermediate open innovators, and incipient open innovators. Our results reveal that advanced open innovators have a higher performance in product innovation, and that there are no differences among groups in process and organizational innovation.