Research on open innovation assumes that the firm’s innovation activities is performed in an open system where the firm combines internal knowledge with external knowledge to accelerate innovation processes as well as seeking new markets through licensing for external use of the innovation (Chesbrough, 2003; 2006). Much of the open innovation research also assumes a trend of increasing open innovation due to the benefits of an accelerated innovation process and larger markets. However, despite the generally positive climate of open innovation and its benefits, management research has so far only produced a handful of reports on the incidence of open innovation in industry over time (e.g., Chesbrough & Brunswicker, 2013). Regarding the relation between open innovation and performance there has been calls for more large-scale evidence (Huizing, 2011; West et al, 2014). We will here report research which will answer the questions: 1) Are firms over time using more or less of open innovation over time? and 2) Are firms using open innovation associated with higher innovation performance than firms not engaging in open innovation?
The answers to these questions are important to develop empirical knowledge about the general diffusion of open innovation among firms and how it varies over time and industries. How open innovation affect innovation performance may have important clues about the costs and risks of open innovation, e.g., the issue of appropriability, as well as implications for innovation management, e.g., which partners to collaborate with, the mix of own R&D, collaborative innovation and external R&D.
The Community Innovation Survey (CIS), performed bi-annually in all EU-countries, sends questionnaires to a representative sample of firms in each country about their innovation activities. The questions are based on the so called Oslo Manual (OECD, 2005). Among the questions are some that concern innovation collaboration, such as:
During the three years 20xx to 20xx, did your enterprise co-operate on any of your innovation activities with other enterprises or institutions? (Innovation co-operation is active participation with other enterprises or institutions on innovation activities. Both partners do not need to commercially benefit. Exclude pure contracting out of work with no active co-operation.) (CIS-questionnaire item)
The firms are also asked about their innovation collaboration partners, where they are located and which the most valuable partner are.
Based on five waves of Swedish data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) which is performed bi-annually (we use the Swedish CIS in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012) with some 31,000 observations all together we get following results:
- The incidence of collaboration in innovation is increasing until 2008 and then decreases in 2010 and 2012.
- The incidence rate of open innovation varies significantly between industries
- The most valuable collaboration partner is the customer, followed by suppliers
- The firms with collaboration partners in innovation are associated with higher innovation performance than firms without any collaboration
- The firms which collaborates with customers are associated with a higher innovation performance than firms with other collaboration partners
The results are still preliminary as the statistical analysis is still in preliminary stage. By August 1st we will have finished the analysis and will be able to present the final results.
Open_innovation_OUI_conference_2016.pdf 