ABSTRACT

The benefits of inbound open innovation are widely acknowledged, but not all companies are successful in their attempts to leverage external sources of innovation. Those with dynamic capabilities perform better, but developing and maintaining such capabilities generates costs. Therefore, a given company needs to find out which capabilities are worth investing in. In the current study, I adopt a contingency approach to inbound open innovation. I focus on distinct open innovation strategies that vary according to their approaches to innovative search and accessing complementary knowledge. I develop a typology of six inbound open innovation strategies based on the dimensions of managerial attention (proactive/reactive) and locus of innovation (internal/shared/external). I further report their requirements for four dynamic capabilities: sensing capability, impression management capability, absorptive capacity, and collaboration capability. The findings bring attention to often-ignored reactive strategies for inbound open innovation and provide a nuanced view of how the division of development responsibilities in different phases of the innovation process affects requirements for dynamic capabilities. The study supports managers in implementing successful inbound open innovation strategies by helping them choose a strategy that supports their organization’s overall objectives and strike a balance between underinvestment and overinvestment in dynamic capabilities.

摘要

入站式开放式创新的好处已广为人知，但并非所有公司都能成功利用外部创新资源。那些具有动态能力的人表现更好，但开发和维护这种能力会产生成本。因此，给定的公司需要找出哪些能力值得投资。在当前的研究中，我对入站开放式创新采用了权变方法。我专注于不同的开放式创新战略，这些战略根据他们进行创新搜索和获取补充知识的方法而有所不同。我根据管理注意力（主动/被动）和创新轨迹（内部/共享/外部）的维度开发了六种入站开放式创新策略的类型。我进一步报告了他们对四种动态能力的要求：感知能力、印象管理能力、吸收能力和协作能力。调查结果引起了人们对入站开放式创新经常被忽视的反应策略的关注，并提供了关于创新过程不同阶段的开发责任划分如何影响动态能力需求的细微差别。该研究通过帮助管理人员选择支持其组织总体目标并在动态能力投资不足和过度投资之间取得平衡的战略，支持管理人员实施成功的入站开放式创新战略。调查结果引起了人们对入站开放式创新经常被忽视的反应策略的关注，并提供了关于创新过程不同阶段的开发责任划分如何影响动态能力需求的细微差别。该研究通过帮助管理人员选择支持其组织总体目标并在动态能力投资不足和过度投资之间取得平衡的战略，支持管理人员实施成功的入站开放式创新战略。调查结果引起了人们对入站开放式创新经常被忽视的反应策略的关注，并提供了关于创新过程不同阶段的开发责任划分如何影响动态能力需求的细微差别。该研究通过帮助管理人员选择支持其组织总体目标并在动态能力投资不足和过度投资之间取得平衡的战略，支持管理人员实施成功的入站开放式创新战略。