Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to study the novel food (NF) industry in Europe and how regulations have affected companies' collaboration and openness towards other actors during new product development. The research question, therefore, was “How do the European NF regulations affect radical innovation in the food industry?”.

Design/methodology/approach

A multiphase mixed-methods design was used to combine three sets of data as follows: the NF applications and copies of these from 1997 to 2018; the applications in the first 18 months of the revised NF regulation period after 2018 and interviews with six NF applicant companies and seven experts on NF.

Findings

Interactions with research and development (R&D) suppliers appear to be common during development of NF products for companies of all sizes. Ownership of knowledge and a conscious intellectual property rights strategy are important for companies' openness during radical innovation and collaboration. The decentralised NF regulations from 1997 to 2017, with reduced possibilities for data protection, prevented innovation. However, both old and new NF regulations facilitate easy routes for second-to-market approach. Companies of all sizes apply for NF-approved products under the new NF regulations, which ensure data protection.

Practical implications

Future NF pioneers, food R&D suppliers and food-industry policymakers will benefit from open innovation and NF insights by gaining an understanding of NF regulations and insight into how a policy with open governance affects collaboration and co-creation.

Originality/value

The NF regulations and their effect on radical food innovation have not previously been studied according to innovation management theory. Understanding various forms of selective partnership and collaboration among actors in the food industry is valuable for future growth.

中文翻译：

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新的新颖食品法规和创新合作

目的

本文的目的是研究欧洲的新型食品（NF）行业，以及法规如何影响公司在新产品开发过程中对其他参与者的协作和开放度。因此，研究问题是“欧洲NF法规如何影响食品行业的根本性创新？”。

设计/方法/方法

多相混合方法设计用于合并三组数据，如下所示：NF应用程序及其1997年至2018年的副本；在2018年后修订后的NF监管期的前18个月中申请，并采访了6家NF申请公司和7名NF专家。

发现

在各种规模的公司开发NF产品的过程中，与研发（R＆D）供应商的互动似乎很普遍。知识的所有权和有意识的知识产权策略对于公司在进行彻底的创新和协作过程中的开放性至关重要。从1997年到2017年，分散的NF法规减少了数据保护的可能性，阻碍了创新。但是，新旧NF法规都为采用第二种市场方法提供了便利。各种规模的公司都根据新的NF法规申请NF批准的产品，以确保数据保护。

实际影响

未来的NF先驱，食品研发供应商和食品工业政策制定者将通过了解NF法规以及对开放治理政策如何影响协作和共同创造的了解，从开放式创新和NF洞察中受益。

创意/价值

以前尚未根据创新管理理论研究过NF法规及其对基本食品创新的影响。了解食品行业参与者之间各种形式的选择性合作伙伴关系和协作对于未来的增长非常有价值。