Open innovation: status quo and quo vadis - an analysis of a research field

Abstract

Open innovation is now a widely used concept in academia, industry, and policy-making. According to the recent report “The Open Innovation Barometer”, released by the Economist, 90% of organizations have either adopted or are planning to implement key open innovation practices by opening up their organizational boundaries to collaborative innovation in the next three years (The Economist Group 2022). However, the social and economic changes imposed by the emerging processes of transition towards a more digital and sustainable society raise questions on how the open innovation field of studies is evolving to meet new, emerging needs. By combining bibliometric techniques and content analysis, this study illustrates how this research community has evolved in the last 12 years. More specifically, this study provides a descriptive analysis of the literature on open innovation, defines its knowledge structure, and illustrates a representative picture of the theoretical landscape. Our analysis shows that attempts to consolidate established topics and theoretical approaches in this field of studies go hand in hand with the emergence of new conversations about unexplored dimensions of open innovation. We conclude this article by outlining some avenues for future research on how to conceptualize, theorize, and research (methods and analytical techniques) open innovation.

A bibliometric analysis of trends in the relationship between innovation and food

“…, 2021). The next generation of this term is open eco-innovation, a new form of cooperation for sustainable development (Bertello et al. , 2023; Chistov et al.…”

“…The open innovation concept is a root for new types of innovation like “eco-innovation”, “co-innovation” and “social innovation” (e.g. Bertello et al. , 2023; Chistov et al.…”

“…It can be a product that does not damage the environment (less polluting) or can be recycled or biodegradable (Severo et al, 2018;Kiefer et al, 2021). The next generation of this term is open eco-innovation, a new form of cooperation for sustainable development (Bertello et al, 2023;Chistov et al, 2021b). Environmental innovation also has two directions: environmental innovation in products (e.g.…”

“…The open innovation concept is a root for new types of innovation like "eco-innovation", "co-innovation" and "social innovation" (e.g. Bertello et al, 2023;Chistov et al, 2021a). According to the study by Bertello et al (2023), open innovation is closely linked to sustainability, where the open innovation community has the potential to propose new solutions to major challenges.…”

“…Bertello et al, 2023;Chistov et al, 2021a). According to the study by Bertello et al (2023), open innovation is closely linked to sustainability, where the open innovation community has the potential to propose new solutions to major challenges. The term "co-innovation" appeared on 18 papers in the sample database, six of which were published in 2020, indicating that the topic is actively emerging in publications.…”