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The innovation management and policy literature suggests that government support generally has a positive effect on SMEs' R&D, innovation performance, and fostering international links. However, research in this field has mainly examined the outcomes, overlooking the impact during the course of the R&D partnership, especially in an international context. Using longitudinal data and a transaction cost (TC) approach, we conduct an in‐depth case study of a UK–China innovation program aimed at supporting and facilitating R&D partnerships between UK SMEs and Chinese organizations. Examining 11 UK SMEs with 12 R&D partnerships in this program, we identify four stages of the R&D partnership with Chinese organizations, revealing that government support both positively and negatively affects TCs at each stage. Based on these positive and negative effects, we offer empirical and theoretical contributions, as well as managerial and policy implications to support international R&D partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to open innovation (OI) and boundary spanning literatures by providing a first understanding of industry‐based boundary spanners in university‐industry (U‐I) collaboration through case studies of Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) and their international OI platforms. Organisational roles created by these platforms within the MNCs and their activity of bridging between organisations are examined. The analysis of 25 in‐depth interviews in two MNCs located in eight countries, along with internal documents, sheds light on U‐I collaboration practices implemented by Chinese MNCs. Two new boundary spanning roles are identified: Dual Cultural Bridger – as these OI platforms bridge organisational and national cultural gaps to prevent and solve problems in the collaborative process; and International Network Enhancer – as these OI platforms act as trust building and local knowledge listening posts for the MNC's global network. Managerial and policy implications are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse innovation commonly refers to an innovation initially launched in a developing country and later introduced to an advanced country. Adopting a linear innovation model with the four sequential phases of concept ideation, product development, primary target market introduction, and subsequent secondary market introduction, this study expands the espoused definition of reverse innovation beyond its market-introduction focus with reversals in the flow of innovation in the ideation and product development phases. Recognizing that each phase can take place in different geographical locations, the paper then introduces a typology of global innovation with 16 different types of innovation flows between advanced and emerging countries, 10 of which are reverse innovation flows. The latter are further differentiated into weak and strong reverse innovation, depending on the number of innovation phases taking place in an emerging country. This analytical framework allows recasting of current research at the intersection between innovation and international business. Of the 10 reverse innovation flows, six are new and have not been covered in the literature to date. The study addresses questions of ethnocentrism and the continuity of the flow of innovation, and discusses possible extensions of the model with respect to the number of geographical categories and phases of innovation. Four research propositions highlight areas for future investigation, especially in the context of optimizing a firm's portfolio of global innovation competence and capability. The implications for management are concerned with internal and external resistance to reverse innovation. Most significantly, while greater recognition and power of innovation in formerly subordinate organizational units is inconvenient to some, the ability to leverage the potential of reverse innovation makes a firm more likely to succeed in global innovation overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]