The Importance of Connecting Open Innovation to Strategy

Abstract

Companies that are experienced in open innovation integrate open 7 innovation activities as part of their strategy. By contrast, open innovation research 8 has not been adequately integrated into the strategy literature and vice versa. In this 9 chapter, we discuss a number of existing strategy fields that offer inroads to connect 10 open innovation to strategy. The need to connect open innovation to strategy is 11 illustrated by describing how companies increasingly organize new business 12 development projects through open innovation ecosystems where an increasing 13 variety of partners do not only act as sources of innovative knowledge but also 1415 provide input to a joint strategizing process.