SME innovation strategy and motivation has become one of the most challenging subjects of innovation policy. New innovation models proposed recently have captured the attention of policy makers. However, these models seem for the most part to be applicable to medium-sized or large enterprises. The objective of this paper is to analyse the open innovation model in the case of outsourced cooperative R&D in SMEs. Although the driving forces for outsourcing innovation in SMEs are in some respects similar to those for large firms, others are linked to lack of resources, but both have in common the pursuit of efficiency in R&D and technology transfer. This paper is based on an empirical study of open innovation in SMEs and proposes a model for analysing the critical elements which influence performance and strategic alignment between R&D performers and their partners (in most cases, SMEs).

The analysis of bend fracture limits of sheet metals is important for the automotive industry. For high and mid-ductility materials, current methods are often unreliable due to the difficultly of detecting the initiation of a crack on the outer surface of the bend. Sophisticated techniques that rely on the strain evolution in the material are capable to detect the cracks and establish the bend limits using digital image correlation (DIC) strain measurement systems. However, these techniques are complex and sometimes impractical for industrial use. This study uses a simplified bend test technique that uses optical image processing to detect crack initiation to then determine the bend limits of aluminum alloys using a modified angled line method (MALM). The findings of this study indicate that the optical method is inconsistent in detecting the crack initiation and likely to result in a large deviation in detected the bend limits.