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Open innovation (OI) is increasingly being adopted by city administrations and municipalities. However, the extent to which the public sector applies OI is yet unclear. Furthermore, studies in OI in public organizations has primarily focused on citizen inclusion and the barriers and drivers of attracting and engaging citizens and seldom considered other external actors, such as academia and other public organizations. Consequently, this study reviews the literature on OI in public organizations and applies the concept of organizational boundary to interpret the relationships among OI actors in the public sector. The review identifies that the maturity of OI in public organizations are low between all actors and these organizations differ to a great extent in terms of which aspects of organizational boundary are open. However, grand challenges and social innovation are exceptions demonstrating a high level of maturity. Furthermore, the use of intermediaries has the potential of opening all aspect of boundaries and hence achieving a high level of success. Finally, the framework presented in this review is used to suggest future research.

Open innovation (OI) is increasingly being adopted by city administrations and municipalities. However, the extent to which the public sector applies OI is yet unclear. Furthermore, studies in OI in public organizations has primarily focused on citizen inclusion and the barriers and drivers of attracting and engaging citizens and seldom considered other external actors, such as academia and other public organizations. Consequently, this study reviews the literature on OI in public organizations and applies the concept of organizational boundary to interpret the relationships among OI actors in the public sector. The review identifies that the maturity of OI in public organizations are low between all actors and these organizations differ to a great extent in terms of which aspects of organizational boundary are open. However, grand challenges and social innovation are exceptions demonstrating a high level of maturity. Furthermore, the use of intermediaries has the potential of opening all aspect of boundaries and hence achieving a high level of success. Finally, the framework presented in this review is used to suggest future research.

Open innovation (OI) is increasingly being adopted by city administrations and municipalities. However, the extent to which the public sector applies OI is yet unclear. Furthermore, studies in OI in public organizations has primarily focused on citizen inclusion and the barriers and drivers of attracting and engaging citizens and seldom considered other external actors, such as academia and other public organizations. Consequently, this study reviews the literature on OI in public organizations and applies the concept of organizational boundary to interpret the relationships among OI actors in the public sector. The review identifies that the maturity of OI in public organizations are low between all actors and these organizations differ to a great extent in terms of which aspects of organizational boundary are open. However, grand challenges and social innovation are exceptions demonstrating a high level of maturity. Furthermore, the use of intermediaries has the potential of opening all aspect of boundaries and hence achieving a high level of success. Finally, the framework presented in this review is used to suggest future research.

Business model innovation can be a key driver to realizing the transformation needed to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the same time, the SDGs can support organizations as they identify and tackle opportunities for business model innovation. This study uses a constructive research method to build a managerial approach that supports business model innovation for the SDGs. The approach helps organizations assess their contribution to the SDGs, explore and prioritize SDG-oriented business opportunities and risks, and formulate business model innovation strategies accordingly. The proposed approach was developed through participatory action research conducted in collaboration with two companies operating in the medical and educational sectors and then applied to Ørsted, a multinational power company, which is strongly committed to a sustainability-driven business transformation and aspires to contribute strongly to SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy) and SDG 13 (Climate action). The study furthers the academic and practical debate on business model innovation for sustainability by providing new academic and practical knowledge on how organizations can use the SDGs to stimulate business model innovations.

In times of unprecedented change related to the ongoing digital transformation of business and society at large, a pressing contemporary management challenge is recognizing and translating these changes into digital business model innovation (DBMI). Academia potentially has much to offer in aiding this managerial challenge, yet research in the field remains vague with regard to what DBMI is. We detect conceptual ambiguity among scholars as a bottleneck that prevents advancements in the field of DBMI research. In this article, we aim to trace the foundation of key attributes of the DBMI concept and propose a novel definition. Our insights are based on a targeted, state-of-the-art literature review of 57 publications. We conclude with an exploration of avenues for future research, which we closely link to the broader fields of strategic management, information systems, and organization studies, thereby exposing the issue of DBMI to a wider audience. Overall, we aim to make a significant step toward construct clarity in DBMI research.

Group cohesion is critical in the workplace, especially when individual and contextual constraints coexist but high performance is essential. We assess the source of variation in group members' perceptions of cohesion. Using an interactional psychology perspective, and within the context of intensive care, this study examines the interactive effects of nurses' self-concept and the objective social context within which they are embedded. Individual- and unit-level factors are investigated because they jointly shape the degree to which nurses perceive their intensive care units as cohesive. A multisource, multilevel study of approximately 140 nurses employed in 20 units across Denmark demonstrates the role self-concept plays in easing and enhancing the constraints workplaces impose on cohesion. Implications for research on emergent states and interactional psychology are discussed.

Europe’s Research Infrastructures (RIs) enable major scientific breakthrough and incubate the discoveries that foster innovation. Given the overwhelming public consensus on the need to address the societal challenges facing Europe and the world, RIs must embrace the responsibility to create and sustain societal impact. Within this context, the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures’ (ESFRI) “Strategic Report on Research Infrastructures” (Roadmap 2018) recommends that European RIs establish effective means to determine their economic and wider social value, and prioritise the development of indicators and measures that help to establish causality between RIs and socio-economic impact (SEI). Once fully operational, the European Spallation Source (ESS) ERIC will be an international, multidisciplinary research facility based on the world’s most powerful neutron source. The facility is under construction in Lund, Sweden, with its Data Management and Software Centre (DMSC) located nearby in Copenhagen, Denmark. In 2015, ESS became the first European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) established in Scandinavia. ESS is currently in the Construction Phase (2013-2025), running in parallel to the Initial Operations Phase (2019- 2025). Embedded in the ESS vision and mission statement is the goal to achieve not only scientific breakthrough, but also to generate a wide range of societal and economic impacts through research activities, public dissemination of knowledge, reinforcement and extension of scientific networks, societal outreach, promotion of economic growth in local regions, procurement of innovative technologies, and research collaborations with scientific organisations and with industry. The impacts of these activities are expected to be evident directly on the Member Countries and to extend indirectly across many additional countries and regions in the long run.

BSOs are large research organizations established purposefully to address fundamental and complex scientific research challenges that cannot be addressed in isolation by individual universities, research institutes, or even government agencies. Unlike universities and other national research institutes, BSOs are unique scientific organizations by virtue of their sheer size, level of complexity, and uncertainty with respect to the outcomes of research and development. BSOs involve large networks of suppliers and collaborators in science, government, and business, constituting a complex system with permeable boundaries that offer opportunities for technology transfer, knowledge accumulation, and business creation. Hence, BSOs are influential players within complex systems of innovation, learning, and business creation. Despite their important role for national and international economies as well as society at large, our current understanding of their management and impact is underdeveloped in both theory and practice. We know less about the challenges and opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship in a context of changing economic, technological, and societal environments that arise in the broader ecosystem surrounding BSOs. To address this void of research, we made this special issue to focus on innovation and entrepreneurship around BSOs to create a richer foundation for future conceptual and empirical research on science management and innovation. The work included in this special issue offers some new insights regarding innovation and entrepreneurship in the context of BSOs. To embed these individual findings into existing research, we provide a comprehensive overview regarding innovation involving BSOs capturing the full picture of the fundamental issues in this regard. Thus, this introduction of the special issue offers an overview on the innovation ecosystem around BSOs as a common reference point for the fundamental mechanisms of innovation in relat

Prior studies have extensively discussed firms’ propensity of licensing under different levels of competition. This study clarifies the differences between potential technology competition (PTC) and actual licensing competition (ALC). We investigate the relationship between these two types of competition in the context of Chinese patent licensing landscape, using patent licensing data during 2002–2013. We find that the positive effect of PTC on ALC is contingent upon the nature of licensed patent, such as generality, complexity, and newness. Our findings help scholars and managers interested in licensing to understand and monitor the likelihood of licensing competition. Policy implications are presented at the end of this study.

Nowadays the automotive industry is facing big threats from rapidly evolving technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, connected technologies, clean energy demands for renewable energy and electric vehicles. Furthermore, business expectation of carmakers is lower than that of IT giants such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Alibaba. Since the Second World War Japanese have demonstrated their outstanding ability to innovate. For example: Shinkansen opened a new era of high-speed railway by changing the concept for travel and boosting the convenience which resulted from precise timetables and excellent safety developed by Japanese high-level engineering; the Nobel Prize winning blue light-emitting diode (LED) was invented by Japanese researchers just recently. The chapter explains the key factors that enabled Japanese to initiate and implement such outstanding innovations and what can be learnt from their experience.

The outbreak and rapid spread of COVID-19 has disrupted lives, communities, and economies worldwide, with more than 6.7 million people testing positive and a death toll of nearly 400,000 globally. While COVID-19 prevails, its impact on businesses keeps increasing. Many businesses, from brick and mortar grocery stores to global corporations, were hit hard by the pandemic, and some have already been forced into insolvency. The reality is harsh: customers stopped or postponed purchases or purchased less than before. In other cases, the supply chain simply collapsed, and it has been extremely difficult to source alternative suppliers. No demand, no supply—a huge challenge for businesses worldwide. That is why many countries in the world, including the US, China, and many European countries, are keen to reopen their economies and get the engine of business gradually running again. However, we should see a bright side: as organizational theorist James G. March has long pointed out, crisis is one of the fundamental motivations for innovation. Under a crisis like COVID-19, a firm’s survival and success are no longer a matter of improving its effectiveness and efficiency; instead, survival rests on the firm’s ability to define strategies and develop capabilities to navigate new opportunities to innovate. Perhaps the only way of escaping or minimizing the negative impact of COVID-19 on our businesses is to pursue innovation and entrepreneurship. Business leaders are frequently inspired by anecdotal cases in the media about how role models of innovative firms have managed to grasp new market opportunities, combined with old or new technologies. Yet nowhere is there a comprehensive framework that can guide business leaders to navigate opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, develop relevant capabilities, and deploy tactics to take advantage of a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, they often are driven only by short-sighted emerging opport

The interactions between universities and businesses have become key drivers of today’s economic growth and firms’ business success. However, a key factor, the existing relationship between government and industry funding, is largely underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between government and industry funding for universities, in the context of developing countries, specifically taking China as a case. We found that there is a substitution effect between the two types of funding and this effect varies from different types of universities. We discuss our findings and draw implications for firms that seek to collaborate with universities.

Some firms use hidden knowledge facilitators (HKFs) to facilitate knowledge sharing among employees within intrafirm online communities. These firms hope for enhanced knowledge sharing outcomes within their organizations without letting employees know that HKFs exist. Yet, the extent to which HKFs’ interventions are effective remains unknown to researchers and managers. Built on the knowledge sharing (KS) literature, this study explores the unique roles of HKFs as moderators between a company and its employees. We develop several hypotheses to test the impact of the quantity and quality of HKFs’ online interventions on several KS outcomes. By analyzing log data of a Chinese corporation's online R&D community, we find that (1) the quantity of HKFs’ intervention has a mostly positive impact on KS outcomes; (2) the quality of HKFs’ intervention has a mixed impact on several KS outcomes, depending on which aspect of quantity is considered; and (3) the quality of HKFs’ intervention also moderates the positive impact of the quantity of HKFs’ intervention in different ways on different intended KS outcomes. This study makes a clear contribution to the literature on knowledge sharing and knowledge facilitation by demonstrating the impact of HKFs on KS outcomes in a Chinese context.

This paper presents an empirical account of a phenomenon that we refer to as the ‘reverse tragedy of the commons’ in open innovation. The name signifies the ‘under-exploitation’ of intellectual property (IP) under weak appropriability. The name is this graphic because the tragedy is costly, and can also render IP effectively worthless and block innovation in the short to medium term. We propose that the tragedy is borne out of the interaction between enterprise characteristics, a competitive setting and the framework that is set by the policy intervention. This finding is pertinent to policy-makers with regard to the design of research, development and innovation instruments, as well as managers who must determine how to implement open practices in innovation.

Designers’ Professional Identity (DPI) combines social- and self-perceptive awareness through which one is able to identify as a designer. However, self-perception can be different from the expectations associated with an ideal designer, especially during education. Thus, this paper reports a survey where self-perceived design skills and expectation are compared at different points in a design education. Findings indicate that changes in mindset modify the alignment between self-perception and expectations, which provides implications for education and for a broader understanding of DPI.