Title: How open are SMEs? Exploring the impact of different open innovation practices

Authors: Ignacio Odriozola-Fernández; Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent

Addresses: Department of Economy and Business Organisation, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08017 Barcelona, Spain ' Department of Economy and Business Organisation, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08017 Barcelona, Spain

Abstract: Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) tend to collaborate with many economic agents to develop new ideas and build a solid network. Firms collaborate in this way to increase their profitability and sales and expand their share of the market. This paper sheds light on this phenomenon by examining the combined effect of open innovation practices, innovation performance, innovation strategy and the company characteristics that have been found to shape firms' performance. Given the heterogeneity of SMEs, we expect to find that firms follow different patterns depending on their capabilities, vision and characteristics. The empirical study is based on a sample of 32 SMEs located in the Spanish region of Valencia. The analysis is based on qualitative comparative analysis, which has been found to be a suitable approach under assumptions of causal complexity. The results show different strategies that firms might follow. These strategies are discussed in detail.

Keywords: SMEs; open innovation; qualitative comparative analysis; strategic choices.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2022.123761

European Journal of International Management, 2022 Vol.18 No.1, pp.32 - 51

Received: 23 Jun 2019
Accepted: 01 Nov 2019
Published online: 04 Jul 2022 *

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