Knowing the factors influencing the success of collaborative innovation is particularly relevant for both academics and practitioners. Nonetheless, many studies have regarded the megatrends influencing innovation imperatives, the development of co-innovation strategies, the selection of partners and the involvement of user communities, but not so much the understanding of how the co-innovation process is concretely designed and managed. Adding to extant research, the purpose of this paper is to explore how companies collaborate in co-innovation processes.,A longitudinal, single case study has been conducted on the co-innovation process between Loccioni, an Italian medium-sized, high tech family firm, and Pfizer, one of the largest companies operating in the pharmaceutical sector.,From the case study analysis, three main results have emerged. First, the role of medium-sized companies in leading the co-innovation process as both the initiator and orchestrator. Second, the interplay between the local and the global dimension of co-innovation and the importance of (un)formal roles in innovation. Third, the “double funnel” of co-innovation, linking both the technological and the relational dimensions. Specifically, the case highlights the relevance of the relational – beyond the technological – aspects of co-innovation, providing a relational model that links the geographical dimensions (local/distant) and the role of specific individuals.,The paper presents an example of how a medium-sized firm has implemented its co-innovation process, shedding new light on possible barriers and success factors that other smaller or similar companies may follow when dealing with large multinationals.

中文翻译：

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设计和管理共同创新：以Loccioni和Pfizer为例

了解影响协作创新成功的因素对学者和从业者都特别重要。尽管如此，许多研究都认为，影响创新势头，共同创新策略的发展，合作伙伴的选择以及用户社区参与的大趋势，但对于如何具体设计和管理共同创新过程的理解并不多。除现有研究外，本文的目的是探索公司如何在共同创新过程中进行协作。意大利中型高科技家族企业Loccioni之间进行了有关联合创新过程的纵向，单例研究该公司和辉瑞公司是制药领域最大的公司之一。通过案例分析，得出了三个主要结果。第一，中型公司作为发起人和协调者在领导共同创新过程中的作用。其次，合作创新在本地和全球层面之间的相互作用以及创新中（非正式）角色的重要性。第三，共同创新的“双漏斗”，将技术和关系维度联系在一起。具体而言，该案例突显了合作创新（技术以外）方面的相关性，提供了一种将地理维度（本地/远方）与特定个体的角色联系起来的关系模型。本文提供了一个示例，说明了如何一家中型公司已经实施了其合作创新过程，为其他小型或类似公司在与大型跨国公司打交道时可能遇到的障碍和成功因素提供了新的思路。